San Mateo board OKs $49 million for new Caltrain station

The San Mateo County Transportation Authority’s board last week approved $49 million in Measure A funds to rebuild the Caltrain station in South San Francisco, Calif.

The station is one of four Caltrain stations that still use an older configuration of the center boarding platform, which prevents more than one train from using the station at a time due to safety considerations. The $59 million project will employ a wider center boarding platform to improve safety at the station and train operations throughout the Caltrain system, authority officials said in a press release.

A pedestrian underpass has been proposed for the station to allow passengers to access trains without walking across the track. Additionally, the station will be moved south of its current location to allow for the wider platform as well as other station improvements. The current location is under the Grand Avenue overpass and next to freight-rail tracks.

In 2014, more than 400 riders used the station on an average weekday.

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which owns and operates Caltrain, has contributed $4 million for project design. The city of South San Francisco will provide $5.9 million. The city also allocated $3.3 million to purchase additional property for the project and remediate contaminated soil in the area. Caltrain plans to pursue other sources of funds to offset construction costs.

The timeline for the construction is dependent on the outcome of negotiations with Union Pacific Railroad to resolve issues around the use of its tracks, authority officials said. Construction will be timed to coordinate with the Caltrain's electrification project.

Measure A funds are supported by a half-cent sales tax that provides funding for transportation projects in the county.