California Avenue is a Caltrain station near milepost 31.7 in Palo Alto, California. It stops at the historical town center of Mayfield, which was annexed by the town of Palo Alto in 1925. The current structure was built in 1983 at the same time as the nearby Palo Alto Central condominium complex, replacing a shelter a few hundred feet to the south.2008 ImprovementsIn 2008 Caltrain completed construction of a new underground passage and other improvements to the Palo Alto and California Avenue stations. A new northbound platform on the east side of the tracks was added. The improvements at the California Avenue station improved safety by replacing the at-grade pedestrian crossing with a pedestrian underpass. The center boarding platform was replaced with outside boarding platforms. A fence between the tracks helps keep passengers off the tracks. A ticket vending machine is located at the entrance to the pedestrian underpass so that people can buy or validate their tickets before going to the northbound platform. New shelters for passengers needing assistance are located at the northern end of the platforms, next to the manual wheelchair lifts. The shelters have been modified to accommodate wheelchairs.Service and RidershipThe California Avenue station is ranked 12th in weekday riders as of 2015 based on the 2015 Caltrain Ridership Counts Publication. Ridership has been recorded at an average of 1,553 weekday riders, or 2.67% of total weekday riders for the line (this is an increase since 2011 when it was 895 weekday riders). California Ave. Station is served by few trains compared to those of similar ridership levels. Starting April 2017, California Ave will be served by Baby Bullet Express trains in the PM peak.
