Caltrain riders have never been happier with the service, but the railroad's executive director says deep service cuts could be coming without new funding.

The agency's 2026 Customer Satisfaction Survey, released Thursday, Oct. 1, found 92% of riders are satisfied with Caltrain. Overall satisfaction scored 4.40 out of 5, up from 4.02 in 2024, the last survey before electrified trains began running. For Burlingame riders who depend on weekend Caltrain service at the Broadway station, the funding threat is especially pointed: the contingency plan would eliminate all weekend trains.

The satisfaction numbers arrived alongside a funding warning. Executive Director Michelle Bouchard said the agency will "continue to strive to provide the reliable, frequent service that our riders rate so highly while we engage in contingency planning to address our impending fiscal cliff, which may require a reduction in service." The survey was presented to the Caltrain Board of Directors on Thursday, Oct. 1.

That cliff is a structural budget shortfall of roughly $75 million a year, according to Caltrain's budget deficit page. A one-time state loan is keeping trains running through fiscal year 2027, but no long-term fix is in place. The fiscal year 2027 operating budget is $269 million, with a $47.6 million gap filled entirely by that loan, according to board finance documents.

The board has adopted a contingency framework spelling out what happens if no outside money arrives. The options include closing more than a third of stations, eliminating all weekend service, reducing trains to once an hour, ending service by 9 p.m. and cutting route segments.

Broadway station has been closed to weekday service since 2005 because of a safety requirement known as the holdout rule. Weekend and off-peak trains are the only Caltrain trips currently stopping there.

Ridership keeps climbing. Caltrain carried 12.6 million riders in fiscal year 2026, up 37.6% from the prior year. Average weekend ridership jumped 40.1% to 21,210 riders, now exceeding 2019 levels. July 2026 set a single-month record of 1.32 million riders.

The survey, conducted May 5–20 among 2,631 riders on randomly selected trains, gave conductors their highest-ever marks. Politeness and helpfulness scored 4.63 out of 5. Safety perceptions rose to 4.44, up from 4.23 in 2024. Restroom cleanliness, at 3.64, was flagged as the biggest area needing improvement.

One potential lifeline: the Connect Bay Area ballot measure heading to voters in November 2026. The five-county sales tax initiative would provide about $50 million a year in locally controlled transit funding for San Mateo County, according to SamTrans. Caltrain says the measure, if approved, would fully address its operating deficit for 14 years.

Despite cutting $76 million in costs over the past five years, Caltrain says fare revenue growth alone cannot close the gap. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) named Caltrain the fastest-growing transit agency in the country in 2025 and awarded it the Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award for 2026.