So much fun! When you're feeling like crazy or itchy nuts, there's nothing like a train ride to calm you down I took the 939am train from Hillsdale station in SM to Downtown RC. Got off at 1005. So fast! No parking fee necessary, no crazy search for parking, and you feel like a tourist in your own Bay Area. The downtown RC stop is near Box, Sequoia station, coffee shops and the RC courthouse where incidentally there was a Veterans Day parade! read more

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Today right now I made it just on time for the train and the train operator sticks out the window and looks at me to say if you hurry, you can make it run to swipe my card as he's looking at me swipe my Clipper card. He closes the doors and laughs. I have to say I take the train every day and this train operator was a straight up dick he was just making fun of me running read more

Caltrain does the WORST job in communicating the relocated Hillsdale station. On Gmaps it drops you off in middle of nowhere. You wonder why public transport has a poor reputation. People UPDATE the directions on maps! Actually in the train, omg it's like riding a horse and buggy -- it's so bumpy. Not too crowded, that is the 1 bonus, however it is off peak. What crap transport compared to other cities. read more

Awful station. Form logistics and comfort of usage standpoint: - no stairs on the west/north side of the station - no protection from the sun. It is ca, not Iceland, the sun here is 300+d a year. Apparently the designers of that station were not told where this station is going to be located... - no way to drive to the east/south side of the station from the meadows . Only from El Camino. Idiocracy. From design/look and feel standpoint: - designed by a person who never saw anything better than an Walmart parking lot. They spend so much time and money on construction to present us with this??? It is the silicon valley and there are no industrial designers and engineers to create the train station? I do not believe it... It is the worst looking station I have ever seen. No greens, cold colors, concrete, weird shapes and forms of station elements, no protection from the sun. Where did all the money go? Epic fail read more

Was on the platform 10 min early. Train showed up. Didn't think I needed to run to the door but did anyway and doors closed on me. Train took off without me. Joke of a transportation system. Paid $50 to uber home. As if the bay area wasn't expensive enough, still had to pay $50 even when I had already paid for a Train ticket. Would be more upset if I didn't already expect less from our public transportation system. What a joke. read more

I feel like all CalTrain stations have some things in common: oddly laid out parking lots, scare pay stations that are kind if inconvenient to get to from any stairs or access point, especially in relation to the train, unclear parking instructions, and the air of piss. Well, this is no different! LOL. I have yet to interact with any sort of conductor or CalTrain employee, but its like a 25% chance that you'll get a silly conductor in the morning making jokes, an 75% chance you have the conductor that reminds you to pay and or goes over like, the policies of CalTrain haha. This is still up for debate : placing the daily parking receipt? pass? in the dash of your car. I've done it a bunch - no ticket from what I imagine would be CalTrain police lmao. Didn't have time another day, and no ticket on my car from the police either. That said, parking is pretty open in the morning when I get here. Therefore, there aren't THAT many people in the morning. Fridays are a little bit different, interestingly enough. There are 2 lots - one directly off El Camino and one on the farther side of, from the 101 direction. I did see a sign yesterday that there was a car stolen out of that lot on September 14, 2017, and they're still investigating, but..... that doesn't make me feel safe lmao. Parking also went up as of Oct 1st, to $82.50 (from $50-ish). Thanks, gov't provided services.... The covered seating areas are the ones that have the odor. My end destination also has a few covered seating areas and even a tunnel - those absolutely reek. I wish there was a little more maintenance in terms of trash and smell and such but it gets me from point A to point B so I cant complain that much. Delays are infrequent, but resolved pretty quickly. read more

Caltrain - Hillsdale Station - Public Transportation Near Me - San Mateo, California

I hate this new location. I walk faster than the average human being and it still takes me 15 minutes to get to West Hillsdale Blvd. which is my transfer point. I even cut through the mall. Because of the distance I have to allow so much extra time because every minute counts. Going to work and coming home I always miss my connection and have to wait an extra 20 minutes. The problem with going to work is that I absolutely can't afford to miss my train, so then I have to be there 45 minutes earlier when really, 20 minutes is fine. You can't exactly j walk across the El Camino without the possibility of getting hit. Anyway it's newer and more lit, but still rather isolated and off the beaten path so don't let your safety guard down! read more

I have been taking the train from this location ever since I was a kid & have seen many changes over the year. The improvements include--two tracks, before northbound & southbound trains shared the same track, more parking, it's cleaned up a little bit, & just recently, Wood Fired Woodie, a small place to get some snacks & pizza opened up in the old abandoned ticket station in the parking lot. The Hillsdale station is less confusing than the SF & SJ stations. I always get people asking me for money when I'm at the SJ station & they don't look homeless or anything, yet at the Hillsdale station, it isn't uncommon to see a person sleeping in a sleeping bag under the covered bench seating...it's heartbreaking. The Hillsdale station is also very convenient because duh...it's located across the street from the mall! I also love the Baby Bullets..I always caught them going/leaving San Jose. Caltrain is a very convenient way to get from SJ-SM-SF..if only they not only had a station by the ballpark but also in downtown! You've heard the good, now it wouldn't be a review without my beefs with Caltrain in general: *The fact that a lot of time the trains aren't on time! *The rising prices. *Half of the conductors are really nice..and the other have our complete D-Bags..even when they know you're a regular. Some of them would get mad at myself & fellow passengers for not finding them sooner when the validators used to be crappy & wouldn't stamp or punch our ticket..okay you know how many cars are on the train & how much of a pain it is to chase after you? *The older trains make you feel so dirty...dirtier than X-tina Aguilera. She's cleaned up a lot though...like the Baby Bullet trains! read more

San Mateo Civil Engineering has been working tirelessly the past year to make this station as inaccessible as possible, and so far their plan has been working quite well! First came the unannounced closure of around 150 spaces on the West side of the track to make way for construction. To account for this, they opened temporary parking on the street on the East side, where the furthest spaces (and the ONLY spaces available after 8am) measure about half a mile from the platform. Hope you planned an extra 15 minutes into your morning commute for parking and a nice walk past multiple noisy construction sites! To be fair, this situation wasn't too bad until recently when our friends at Civil Engineering decided it would be a good plan to also close the roads that provide all Northern access to the station, now requiring commuters to either bypass via El Camino (add an extra 10-15 minutes for traffic), or via the much quicker route around the San Mateo Event Center (which is poorly signed, and difficult to traverse if you're in a hurry to catch a train). Most recently, an additional 30 spaces from the temporary parking have been closed to provide additional room for construction crews during the day, leaving anyone who takes a train later than 8am about a 50/50 chance of being able to get a space. On several occasions I've driven 30 minutes through traffic just to have to turn around and drive home, apologizing to my coworkers that I'll have to work remote that day. In addition to all this, I've also received parking tickets in the past for "unpaid" parking at this station, despite the fact that I DID pay for parking in the space referenced on the ticket. I took a copy of my receipt to the office in San Jose to dispute the ticket, and was told there was "no guarantee" that my ticket could be waived, and that I would hear back in 1-2 weeks (it's since been over a month, and I have yet to hear a verdict). In conclusion, none of this would push me to the point to write a review like this, except for the fact that it seems literally nothing is being done to improve parking at this station in the future. You'd think with all the construction going on at Hillsdale, and with the high demand for parking, there'd be some effort to build a parking structure to future-proof the station. Unfortunately, the only construction currently in the works - and the very same construction that closed the parking lots in the first place - is...can you guess it? EVEN MORE LUXURY APARTMENTS that NOBODY aside from Google employees can reasonably afford! Just what we all needed! In the future, I really hope CalTrain starts running more stops to the nearby stations, as even in it's prime before the construction started, Hillsdale was constantly a cluster to get in and out of. In the meantime, I highly recommend Hillsdale commuters either get here EARLY if they want a guaranteed space, or have the routes to a couple nearby stations in mind in case they draw the short straw on parking. read more

It's great that the platform is accessible from parking lots on both sides, but like most Caltrain stations, there's no protection from rain, wind, or cold. The shelters are too tiny to house all of the commute traffic if necessary. Oh well. would rather take Caltrain than BART any day! read more

One of the best stations in the Caltrain System. Whether you're an employee or customer at Hillsdale Mall, this is the station you want to get off Caltrain at. If you want to beat the hassle of having to sit in traffic as well as looking for a spot to park your car at the mall, Caltrain is your answer. Parking Lot? Yes there is a parking lot available at this station! read more

The last time I took Caltrain, I was in elementary school and was on a class field trip to the Giants stadium. This was during the time the stadium was recently opened. (Yes, I just made myself feel old *sad face* ) Anyways, Since elementary school, I have never been back on Caltrain. Until recently. Me and my coworkers decided to have an outing in San Francisco and none of us wanted to drive. They came from Palo Alto and me in Half Moon Bay. The Hillsdale station is closer to me, and yet I did't know it existed until the night before. It was fairly easy getting to the station. It is directly across Hillsdale mall and there are 2 parking locations. One on the El Camino side, facing the mall across the street and the parking lot is on the opposite side facing a neighborhood. I was surprised that there weren't many people waiting and parking was open for a noon train. There are 2 locations for the pay machines. one on each side of the track. Each location has 2 machines. Make sure to bring cash and a card. I had brought cash but the machine wasn;t accepting it so I had to use my card and paid for parking $5.50 all day and a day pass for about $11. Make sure you are on the correct platform. There are signs pointing where the train is headed. But, if you're on the platform directly across from the mall it's going southbound to San Jose. If you're on the platform facing the neighborhood, you'r going Northbound to San Francisco. There are limited covered areas with seats, but when I went it was fine and I sat down until my train came. The train was late, but maybe about 3 mins. I'm not sure how it is during busy commute hours. But, on a weekend, I would definitely take it again and come from this station. read more

This Is a review of the wonderful people that Ride Caltrain in the bay area. I accidentally got on an earlier train in Palo Alto. It turned out that train didn't stop at Millbrae. That in itself makes no sense. The real reason for five stars is there were number of people on the train that were Extraordinarily helpful in helping me get off in Hillsdale and get on the right train To Millbrae. California love!! read more

What I like about the Hillsdale Caltrain Station is that there are lots of parking options and many express trains stop here. There are parking lots on all 3 sides of the station which is key when you're like me and always cutting it down to the last moment. One time the train passed me while I was driving up El Camino and still managed to park and make onto the train before it left the station. And Luke's Local is also a great addition to the station so you can pick up some dinner on your way home or a grab a snack for the train. read more

For those of you who have never taken the Caltrain before (or me a couple of days ago). There are two machines: 1) One for paper tickets 2) Clipper Card refill machines You would have expected them to put these machines relatively close to each other. If you know which one you need, make sure you don't use the wrong one (sounds simple, right? ... when you actually know what you're doing). I learned that round trip tickets can't be purchased. So you either buy 2 one-way tickets or buy a day pass! Also, like any train station, make sure you're on the right side of the platform... these trains don't come very often. So it's no fun to have to wait another hour before the next one. Don't forget to give yourself plenty of time too. Because a couple min before train arrival, you won't be able to cross over to the other side of the platform. read more

Generally I enjoy riding the Caltrain. It doesn't save me time but it does eliminate the frustration of driving in traffic. Today, however, I found two of your conductors to be completely unreasonable. I'm a business commuter who rides the train 5 days a week. I am part of a commuter benefits program that takes money directly out of my paycheck and then auto-loads my Clipper Cars with a monthly pass. This AM I tagged on like you must every month to reload the card. When the conductor came around I gave her my card as always. It scanned as having no pass. Apparently the card did not load when I tagged. I explained that the same info I wrote above the conductor seemed in a foul mood and asked for my ID. Without further discussion she abruptly left with my ID without saying where she was going or what she was using it for. A few minutes later she reappeared saying another conductor had my ID in another part of the train. When I found him, he was in the process if writing me a ticket. Really? Was the New Years resolution of Caltrain to be completely unreasonable to its loyal, paying customers? And what's up with taking my ID without telling me where you are going with it and what you are doing with it. Unprofessional. Clipper Card website shows I have a valid pass although it apparently did not load this AM. I understand you have a job to do and rules to follow. But like all jobs that have not been outsourced to a computer, there is a little room for a little common sense. read more

This station is pretty nice compared to some. Not too madhouse like SF or SJ, but not deserted either (which in my opinion is good if you don't like being alone at night waiting for a train). Plenty of parking, lots of benches (some with shade), good location across the street from the mall, and I love Luke's. Though, that's a whole other review. Plenty of light, there are quite a few buses that run nearby (390, 391, 250, 251, KX, 295, 292, M-line across the bridge). Plenty of lamp posts on at night, there's a bar less than a block away if you have time to wait. Not really an area for suspicious characters, thank goodness; I feel safe here when I come home pretty late. read more

My biggest gripe about this station is that the Clipper boxes aren't near the exits. So it's super easy to walk away without tagging off, hitting you with an extra $9 charge as your soul rides down to Gilroy without your body. Overall design is also annoying, with crossings only available at the far back and far front of the train. Free commute.org shuttles on the east side are this station's only redeeming quality. read more

located right across from hillsdale mall. to get across from one track to the other is a pathway either in the front or the back of train. just watch out and make sure no trains are coming! clean enough. plenty of parking. just dont leave valuables in the car or your windows gonna be broken. clipper card machines at each staircase so dont forget to scan in and out. times tell if delays for the trains. lots of baby bullets come here so its nice. and local too! plenty of options especially during rush hours. read more

Caltrain - Hillsdale Station - Public Transportation Near Me - San Mateo, California

come here early if you are trying to catch the 851 train to SF on weekdays. Both of the trains usually come together so you will get struck on the wrong side of the gate if you are coming in from the TGIF side. trains are often late by 4-5 minutes. And it's always so crowded in the morning :( read more

I don't think Caltrain service is paid enough to deal with Yelp reviews...they totally deserve it...they make parking inaccessible for no f***ing reason, there is no construction going on the road...I think they are just showing authority...one time they boarded the train with like 20 people and blocked off the rest of them..when asked what is that about? They said they had no idea with a smug face... read more

When are they going to put in more clipper machines on the southbound side?!?! They only have 2 there and they are on the FAR north end of the station. For all of us who park anywhere else we'd have to walk all the way down there just to tag off with the dumb thing. I tried to contact both Caltrain and Clipper about it and while they say they will do something....they haven't. read more

High bay area rent got you down? No problem, you and your entire extended family can take up residence in the massive potholes in the eastern portion of the parking lot at the Hillsdale Caltrain station! I don't think this location has seen a paving machine since the Eisenhower administration, and when the air force used it as a bombing test range before Desert Storm, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that it is in such dire shape now. The pothole repair efforts involve concrete for some ungodly reason and it looks like total shite. Ever seen the videos of people using ramen bricks as a building material? Yeah, that would look more professional than this. It's like they're using this parking lot as an experiment for how well 3rd graders can do road repair and for how much suffering they can inflict and still have people pay $5.50 a day to park there. In a nutshell, the parking lot sucks. The train station part is fine.... trains stop and go. Going back to the parking lot, in the winter, it floods big time, like 12-18 inches of standing water in the eastern portion of the eastern lot, and it sits there like that for weeks until our Caltrain overlords have mercy and pump it all out. It's ridiculous. But, the nearest alternate stations are glorified bus stops that nobody uses (though ironically, Belmont and San Carlos have very nice, spacious parking lots that have not yet been hit by artillery) so this station is your best bet for early morning trips. Just get there early and bring something with 4 wheel drive and a winch in case you high center on one of the craters. read more

I've been using it for the last month for every weekday. Parking spaces are all gone by 9am on busy weekdays. Unnumbered parking spaces are for Hillsdale shopping mall, not for Caltrain, and the police are starting to enforce that, which makes Caltrain parking even more crowded.. Since I'm already parking very far away and sometimes not even getting a spot, I'm going to try street parking, and maybe I can avoid the 50$ per month parking fee altogether. read more

This station is pretty barebones -- well, now that somebody is occupying the little building it's better. But it's pretty ok for the most part. It's not laid out particularly well and that's my biggest issue. If you park in the south lot you have to walk basically all the way to the north end in order to tag your Clipper Card. Pre-clipper card days, they had the validation machines next to the ticket vending machines which seemed to make a lot more sense. read more

A relatively small station with a lot of parking, which like other stations, is pay by space for the day. The platform is pretty small with just a couple of machines. It's usually a pretty quiet station without many people. read more

crowded in the mornings for the bullet trains! not sure what else to say about a train stop but I think it's a standard caltrain stop. Although for a major node I think it probably deserves a larger infrastructure - maybe a coffee shop and a safer way to cross back and forth between North and Southbound trains; walking across tracks is no bueno... read more

Love when it's this close to something everyone can enjoy. Jump off here and you're at the Mall. Good places to eat when here if you have time, Boudin in the mall has a separate place, Fridays is next to the station, and a food court if you want some other choices. Love stations near places like this. read more

Stop blowing choo choo train sounds in the middle of the night. We can hear and feel the train coming a mile away. No need to blow horn u pricks! read more

I felt a little unsafe waiting for the train. It was a Sunday afternoon, still plenty of daylight. Once it got closer to the time of train departure, more people came, and I felt safer. It's rather isolated. Not a lot of foot or car traffic around the waiting platforms which contributed to my slight feeling of uneasiness. read more

The attendant on train to 236 going towards San Francisco told me I had to wait an hour and a half for the next train because I hit my vape pen 10 feet from the train my cloud blew away from the train. I was told I had to wait for smoking. Its 4:57 pm on December 28th 2015. This female attendant needs to learn how to do her job correctly instead of booting people that paid for a train off for smoking away from the train read more

Just to echo what another reviewer posted, parking is usually gone before 9 am (more like 8:45) on weekdays so plan ahead of you need to park. Also given the increased ridership that I've seen in the last 9 months, that cutoff will probably be moving earlier and earlier. read more

The Hillsdale CalTrain station is definitely one of the best thanks to all of the improvements Kat mentioned; I love all of the parking and just plain easier layout. I love the self serve kiosk for tickets; no more fumbling for change for the conductors on bord.! I will have to try the concession stand next time. read more

This is a nice way to go shopping. Unlike BART which really doesn't take you to any decent shopping areas.

I like this station not much in the way of facilities. But does the job. Plus plenty of parking and local transit.

I take Caltrain everyday. This is a review for the staff on Caltrain. Absolutely wonderful staff! They are all so helpful and always looking out for the passengers. They make sure that people who may need extra hell boarding and off boarding are safe. The only complaint I have is that the train is always 5 minutes late. Wouldn't choose another work commute! read more

so conveniently close to everything! i love this station. a less than 10minute walk from home, 28 minute commute to work, rarely late, and if so, just by a few minutes (unless something catastophic happens, which is probably once every month or so). read more