Colma station is situated in a small valley shared with BART's Daly City Yard and a large parking garage.

The first stop outside of the city was named School House after a nearby schoolhouse near the intersection of Mission Street and Old San Pedro Road.

[a] In March 1868, the railroad was acquired by the Southern Pacific; it became part of the Coast Line and served Peninsula Commute service.

[9][10] The SP was allowed to temporarily discontinue passenger service on the branch in November 1928 during a construction project.

It was moved again to El Camino Real and Serramonte Boulevard in 1993 to make room for the station project.

[19][20] The Ocean View Branch right of way was reused to construct the Daly City Turnback and Yard in 1984–1988.

The station included a five-level, 1,400-space parking garage and a footbridge over the yard tracks to an additional surface lot.

It was the southern end of the BART system on the San Francisco Peninsula until the extension to the airport and Millbrae opened in 2003.