Reimagine Dumbarton

SamTrans is reimagining the unused Dumbarton freight railroad line to bring fast, reliable, zero emission bus service and improvements for people biking and walking to the communities of Southeast San Mateo County including East Palo Alto, Belle Haven (Menlo Park), Redwood City, Atherton, and North Fair Oaks.

Reimagine Dumbarton will identify opportunities to use the Dumbarton Corridor to provide access to community destinations, local and regional job centers, and the regional transportation network.

Post-pandemic travel patterns show people are making more local trips. The average daily travel between Redwood City and East Palo Alto has increased by more than 30% since 2019. Reimagine Dumbarton presents an opportunity to create a community-driven project that uses zero emission technology to provide fast and reliable transit connections and foster healthy and sustainable communities.

Fact sheet Hoja informativa 情况介绍 情況介紹 

Get Involved

Take the Survey!

This is the first in a series of community surveys and will ask you about your current travel habits, transportation challenges and barriers you experience along this portion of the corridor, and priorities for travel. Your input will help develop different options for the future of the Dumbarton Corridor in San Mateo County.

Complete the survey ¡Complete la encuesta 完成问卷调查! 完成問卷調查! 

Community Events & Pop-Ups

More events to be added!

  • East Palo Alto - Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 
    Monday, January 19, 2026;  11:30 am - 1:00 pm
    435 Daisy Lane, East Palo Alto, CA 94303
  • Menlo Park - Black Liberation Month Celebration
    Saturday, February 7, 2026 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    Belle Haven Community Campus; 100 Terminal Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025
  • North Fair Oaks Food Distribution Event
    Friday, February 13, 2026; 3:00 pm - 6:30 pm
    Fair Oaks Community Center - 2600 Middlefield Rd, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA
  • Menlo Park Farmers' Market
    Sunday, February 15, 2026; 9 am - 1 pm
    Parking Lot on Chestnut St. (between Santa Cruz Ave. & Menlo Ave.), Menlo Park, CA, United States, California
  • Redwood City Lunar New Year
    Saturday, February 28, 2026; 11 am - 4 pm
    Courthouse Square,  2200 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94063

Background

The Dumbarton Corridor extends between Redwood City on the Peninsula and Union City in the East Bay over the San Francisco Bay. Today, the rail bridge is in disrepair and the freight railroad line is underutilized.

The Dumbarton Corridor has been studied multiple times, mostly focused on regional transportation solutions. This Study is focused on opportunities to provide new bus, pedestrian, and bicycle connections in the near-term, and is focused on San Mateo County only, west of University Avenue to Redwood City Transit Center.

Study Area

Study area of Reimagine Dumbarton project which stretches from Redwood City Transit Center to University Avenue in East Palo Alto


Reimagine Dumbarton Goals

• Improve connections between neighborhoods along the corridor

• Add new pedestrian and bicycle crossings

• Enhance speed and regional bus and Caltrain connections

• Support environmental sustainability

• Connect people to jobs and economic opportunity

• Preserve flexibility for future corridor use

Reimagine Dumbarton Timeline

Reimagine Dumbarton is a multi-phase study that will take place from fall 2025 to winter 2027, with multiple community engagement opportunities. 

Timeline with fall 2025 collect data and identify community transportation needs, winter 2026 community engagement: share your transportation needs and priorities, 2026 spring identify and screen potential project alternative design concepts, summer 2026 community engagement: share your input on the draft alternatives, fall 2026 select preferred project design alternative, winter 2027 community engagement: share information on the preferred project alternative, spring 2027 develop implementation plan

Get Involved

Community input is critical to Reimagine Dumbarton!

We want to hear from you.

• Email the project team at dumbarton@samtrans.com

Previous Studies

In 2018, SamTrans kicked off a process with Cross Bay Transit Partners, LLC (Facebook and Plenary Americas) to evaluative the technical and financial feasibility of a transit project along the Dumbarton rail bridge, connecting the Caltrain corridor at Redwood City to the East Bay. In Spring 2020, the project was put on hold due to the global pandemic.  Facebook and SamTrans compiled and documented pre-environmental work of the alignment and technology options under consideration for the DRC Project.

This effort followed the completion of the 2017 Dumbarton Transportation Corridor Study, a feasibility study that evaluated potential multimodal transportation improvements within the Dumbarton Corridor.

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