Santa Clara VTA Light-rail
Encyclopedia
VTA Light Rail is a light rail system serving San Jose, California
and its suburbs in Silicon Valley
. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
, or VTA, and consists of 42.2 mi (67.9 km) of standard-gauge track on two main lines and a spur line. Originally opened in 1987, the light rail system has gradually expanded since then, and currently has 62 light rail stations in operation on the three lines. VTA operates a fleet of 100 Kinki Sharyo
Low Floor Light Rail Vehicles (LFLRV) to service its passengers. The system's average daily ridership as of Q2 2011 is 32,500 passengers, peaking at 37,536 in August 2008.
All the lines and the corridors they run through are designed to move commuters from the suburbs and suburban areas of San Jose into the major business areas in Downtown San Jose, Santa Clara County Civic Center, and the high-tech and office areas of Northern Silicon Valley (especially along North First Street). It also serves to connect commuters to Caltrain
, ACE
, and eventually BART, which move transit riders to and from Silicon Valley and the Greater Bay Area.
(or Alum Rock
) to Santa Teresa station
in the Santa Teresa neighborhood of San Jose, via Milpitas
and downtown San Jose. There are 36 stops on this line. In South San Jose, the line operates in the median of State Route 87
and 85
. A proposed future development is an extension past Alum Rock along Capitol Ave. and Capitol Expressway to the Eastridge Transit Center
, which would effectively duplicate (and possibly replace) the current service by the 522 bus line along this corridor.
and Santa Teresa
stations. This service, with three trips each in the morning (to Baypointe) and in the afternoon (to Santa Teresa) stops at every station, with nonstop service between Convention Center
and Ohlone/Chynoweth
stations. This service offers free WiFi on board, and fares are the same as other local light rail services.
Designated as 902, this line runs from Downtown Mountain View station
in Mountain View through Sunnyvale
, Santa Clara
, North San Jose
along Tasman Drive, North First Street, Downtown San Jose, and the Southwest Expressway on its way to its terminus at the Winchester station
in western Campbell
. It has 32 stops, 14 of which are shared with the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa Line. To reach San Jose Diridon Station (interchange to Amtrak and commuter rail services) the line tunnels under the station and rail yard; en route to Winchester the line shares the route with Union Pacific Railroad freight tracks.
to Almaden station
at the Almaden Expressway in the Almaden Valley. The Ohlone/Chynoweth station provides connection to the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa Line, and the Almaden station connects to VTA bus service. It receives little traffic, even though there is an intermediate stop at the Westfield Oakridge
mall. These shuttles take about 4 minutes form Ohlone/Chynoweth to Almaden. This line only runs 1 car trains, as they can only fit on the platforms. This line has one track, with sidings at Almaden and Ohlone Chynoweth
. In 2002, VTA introduced new low floor light rail vehicles by Kinki Sharyo
into the fleet. The low floor vehicles initially operated only on the Tasman West line (Downtown Mountain View
to I-880/Milpitas
) because the vehicles' floor height matched the platform height only at that line's stations and was only able to provide level-boarding there. In 2003, after VTA reconstructed platforms along North First Street from the Japantown/Ayer stop northward (with wooden ramps provided for the leading car's front door at all other stations), VTA replaced the entire fleet with low floor light rail vehicles. The 29 (802-830) high floor vehicles were sold to Utah Transit Authority
and 20 (831-850) sold to Sacramento Regional Transit. Only one car was retained as a wrecker. Currently, all stations provide level boarding at all doors.
station. Four people, including the train operator, were injured, and the train was heavily damaged. At the time of the accident, trains were operating on a single track through the area because of construction at three nearby light rail stations. The train involved was attempting to switch between tracks when it derailed. The investigation into the accident is ongoing, but the VTA has ruled out mechanical or equipment failure as a cause for the accident.
VTA has also proposed to fully name light rail lines by line color. Currently, VTA only refers to lines by their route number, or by their destination.
VTA completed most of the Vasona extension in 2005, and plans to begin construction on the light rail extension along Capitol Expressway in 2012. However, VTA lacked sufficient funds to build light rail along Alum Rock Avenue. The originally planned light rail route in Alum Rock, as well as one on El Camino Real, will instead be built as Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT).
The extension is 1.57 miles long and will run alongside Union Pacific Railroad lines. Construction will include lengthening of platforms at the Winchester, Campbell, Hamilton, Bascom, Fruitdale and Race stations. Two new stations (Hacienda and Vasona) will be constructed with the entire project costs projected to be $157 million.
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
and its suburbs in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is a special-purpose district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California, United States...
, or VTA, and consists of 42.2 mi (67.9 km) of standard-gauge track on two main lines and a spur line. Originally opened in 1987, the light rail system has gradually expanded since then, and currently has 62 light rail stations in operation on the three lines. VTA operates a fleet of 100 Kinki Sharyo
Kinki Sharyo
is an Osaka, Japan-based manufacturer of railroad vehicles. It is an affiliate company of Kintetsu Corporation.In business since 1920 and renamed The Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd in 1945...
Low Floor Light Rail Vehicles (LFLRV) to service its passengers. The system's average daily ridership as of Q2 2011 is 32,500 passengers, peaking at 37,536 in August 2008.
Lines
VTA operates 42.2 miles of light rail on 3 lines. There are 4 major corridors of light rail which the lines run on. The first and most important is the Guadalupe Corridor in South San Jose along CA-87 north to Tasman Station, which runs through Downtown San Jose and the business areas of central and North San Jose. It is serviced by two lines, making frequency along this corridor around 7.5 minutes. Other corridors include the Tasman East/Capitol Corridor in East San Jose, the Mountain View/Tasman West corridor in Northwest Silicon Valley, and the Winchester corridor, which services communities in Campbell and West San Jose. Frequency along these corridors are around 15-30 minutes.All the lines and the corridors they run through are designed to move commuters from the suburbs and suburban areas of San Jose into the major business areas in Downtown San Jose, Santa Clara County Civic Center, and the high-tech and office areas of Northern Silicon Valley (especially along North First Street). It also serves to connect commuters to Caltrain
Caltrain
Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...
, ACE
Altamont Commuter Express
The Altamont Commuter Express is a regional rail service in California connecting Stockton with San Jose....
, and eventually BART, which move transit riders to and from Silicon Valley and the Greater Bay Area.
Alum Rock–Santa Teresa
Designated as 901, this line runs from the Alum Rock Transit Center in East San JoseSan Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
(or Alum Rock
Alum Rock, California
Alum Rock is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and a community of San Jose. The CDP, which excludes all annexed areas, had a population of 15,536 at the 2010 census. Alum Rock was named after a rock formerly thought to be composed of alum in nearby Alum...
) to Santa Teresa station
Santa Teresa (VTA)
Santa Teresa is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority . This station is the southern terminus of VTA's Alum Rock-Santa Teresa line...
in the Santa Teresa neighborhood of San Jose, via Milpitas
Milpitas, California
Milpitas is a city in Santa Clara County, California. It is a suburb of the major city of San Jose, California. It is located with San Jose to its south and Fremont to its north, at the eastern end of State Route 237 and generally between Interstates 680 and 880 which run roughly north/south...
and downtown San Jose. There are 36 stops on this line. In South San Jose, the line operates in the median of State Route 87
California State Route 87
State Route 87 , locally called Highway 87 or the Guadalupe Freeway, is a north–south state highway entirely within San Jose, California, United States. Its name was changed from Guadalupe Parkway in 2004 after its entire constructed length was upgraded to a freeway...
and 85
California State Route 85
State Route 85 is a freeway which connects Mountain View and southern San Jose. The entire freeway is named the West Valley Freeway. The majority of the route is also named the Norman Y. Mineta Highway, with the exception of the portion of Highway 85 passing through Saratoga which is named the CHP...
. A proposed future development is an extension past Alum Rock along Capitol Ave. and Capitol Expressway to the Eastridge Transit Center
Eastridge Transit Center
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Eastridge Transit Center is a transit bus station located at Eastridge Mall in eastern San Jose, California...
, which would effectively duplicate (and possibly replace) the current service by the 522 bus line along this corridor.
Commuter Express light rail service
Introduced in October 2010 as a complementary service to the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa light rail line, the weekday, peak-period only Commuter Express light rail service currently operates between BaypointeBaypointe (VTA)
Baypointe is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose, California. This station is served by VTA's Alum Rock–Santa Teresa line....
and Santa Teresa
Santa Teresa (VTA)
Santa Teresa is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority . This station is the southern terminus of VTA's Alum Rock-Santa Teresa line...
stations. This service, with three trips each in the morning (to Baypointe) and in the afternoon (to Santa Teresa) stops at every station, with nonstop service between Convention Center
Convention Center (VTA)
Convention Center is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. The station is located located in San Jose, California in the median of West San Carlos Street between Market Street and Almaden Boulevard. It is directly in front of the San Jose Convention Center...
and Ohlone/Chynoweth
Ohlone/Chynoweth (VTA)
Ohlone/Chynoweth is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority . This station is served by VTA's Alum Rock–Santa Teresa line and serves as the terminus of the little-used, stub Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line, popularly known as the Almaden Shuttle...
stations. This service offers free WiFi on board, and fares are the same as other local light rail services.
Mountain View–Winchester
Downtown Mountain View station
Downtown Mountain View station is an intermodal passenger transportation station that serves the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail system, Caltrain commuter rail line, and numerous bus and shuttle routes.-Station amenities:...
in Mountain View through Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
, North San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
along Tasman Drive, North First Street, Downtown San Jose, and the Southwest Expressway on its way to its terminus at the Winchester station
Winchester (VTA)
Winchester Transit Center is a light rail station and park-and-ride lot operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in Campbell, California. Winchester is the southern terminus of the Mountain View–Winchester light rail line.-History:...
in western Campbell
Campbell, California
Campbell is a city in Santa Clara County, California, a suburb of San Jose, and part of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Campbell's population is 39,349...
. It has 32 stops, 14 of which are shared with the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa Line. To reach San Jose Diridon Station (interchange to Amtrak and commuter rail services) the line tunnels under the station and rail yard; en route to Winchester the line shares the route with Union Pacific Railroad freight tracks.
Almaden Shuttle
Designated as 900, this is a 3-stop spur from the Ohlone/Chyoweth stationOhlone/Chynoweth (VTA)
Ohlone/Chynoweth is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority . This station is served by VTA's Alum Rock–Santa Teresa line and serves as the terminus of the little-used, stub Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line, popularly known as the Almaden Shuttle...
to Almaden station
Almaden (VTA)
Almaden is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority . This station is the southern Terminus of VTA'sOhlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line, popularly known as the Almaden Shuttle.-Location:...
at the Almaden Expressway in the Almaden Valley. The Ohlone/Chynoweth station provides connection to the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa Line, and the Almaden station connects to VTA bus service. It receives little traffic, even though there is an intermediate stop at the Westfield Oakridge
Westfield Oakridge
Westfield Oakridge, formerly known as Westfield Shoppingtown Oakridge and Oakridge Mall, is a shopping mall owned by The Westfield Group, located at the corner of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road in San Jose, California, United States...
mall. These shuttles take about 4 minutes form Ohlone/Chynoweth to Almaden. This line only runs 1 car trains, as they can only fit on the platforms. This line has one track, with sidings at Almaden and Ohlone Chynoweth
Rolling Stock
From 1987 until September 2003, the system was served by a fleet of high-floor light rail vehicles built by Urban Transportation Development CorporationUrban Transportation Development Corporation
The Urban Transportation Development Corporation, or UTDC as it was commonly known, was an Ontario, Canada, Crown corporation created in the 1970s as a way to enter what was then expected to be a burgeoning market in advanced light rail mass transit systems...
. In 2002, VTA introduced new low floor light rail vehicles by Kinki Sharyo
Kinki Sharyo
is an Osaka, Japan-based manufacturer of railroad vehicles. It is an affiliate company of Kintetsu Corporation.In business since 1920 and renamed The Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd in 1945...
into the fleet. The low floor vehicles initially operated only on the Tasman West line (Downtown Mountain View
Downtown Mountain View station
Downtown Mountain View station is an intermodal passenger transportation station that serves the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail system, Caltrain commuter rail line, and numerous bus and shuttle routes.-Station amenities:...
to I-880/Milpitas
I-880/Milpitas (VTA)
I-880/Milpitas is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority . This station is served by VTA's Alum Rock–Santa Teresa line.The station was opened in 2001 as part of VTA's Tasman East light rail extension.-History:...
) because the vehicles' floor height matched the platform height only at that line's stations and was only able to provide level-boarding there. In 2003, after VTA reconstructed platforms along North First Street from the Japantown/Ayer stop northward (with wooden ramps provided for the leading car's front door at all other stations), VTA replaced the entire fleet with low floor light rail vehicles. The 29 (802-830) high floor vehicles were sold to Utah Transit Authority
UTA TRAX
TRAX is a three-line light rail system in Utah's Salt Lake Valley, serving Salt Lake City and several of its suburbs throughout Salt Lake County. The system is operated by the Utah Transit Authority ....
and 20 (831-850) sold to Sacramento Regional Transit. Only one car was retained as a wrecker. Currently, all stations provide level boarding at all doors.
| Designation | Car numbers | Manufacturer | Year of Manufacture | First used | Retired | No. of Seats/ Overall Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low-Floor LRV | 900-999 | Kinki Sharyo Kinki Sharyo is an Osaka, Japan-based manufacturer of railroad vehicles. It is an affiliate company of Kintetsu Corporation.In business since 1920 and renamed The Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd in 1945... |
2001-2005 | 2002 | In Service | 64/170 | 100 |
| High-Floor LRV | 800-850 | Urban Transportation Development Corporation Urban Transportation Development Corporation The Urban Transportation Development Corporation, or UTDC as it was commonly known, was an Ontario, Canada, Crown corporation created in the 1970s as a way to enter what was then expected to be a burgeoning market in advanced light rail mass transit systems... |
1987 | 1987 | 2003 | 67/155 | 50 |
Virginia station derailment
On March 21, 2008, at approximately 7:10 p.m., a southbound 2-car light rail train derailed just north of the VirginiaVirginia (VTA)
Virginia is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority . Virginia station is served by the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa line.-Location:Address: 362 West Virginia Street, San Jose, California...
station. Four people, including the train operator, were injured, and the train was heavily damaged. At the time of the accident, trains were operating on a single track through the area because of construction at three nearby light rail stations. The train involved was attempting to switch between tracks when it derailed. The investigation into the accident is ongoing, but the VTA has ruled out mechanical or equipment failure as a cause for the accident.
Proposed New Alignment
In 2009, VTA included plans for new light rail line configuration as part of its Short Range Transit Plan. The plan calls for the Almaden spur line to be integrated into the entire light rail system, with trains from Mountain View terminating at Almaden instead of Winchester. Trains from Winchester would instead be rerouted to terminate in a loop around the Downtown San Jose transit mall. Additionally, the Santa Teresa-Alum Rock line would be elevated to an express line, skipping stops between Ohlone/Chynoweth and Convention Center. VTA is currently testing the feasibility of running full-time express trains in between these stations with its current Commuter Express service. This plan would improve on-time reliability for riders on both the corridors between Tasman and Mountain View, and Convention Center to Winchester. In the long term, VTA plans to also add a new line from Old Ironsides to Alum Rock to shuttle future BART riders, which would skip unpopular stops west of Tasman Station, and run to Mountain View at peak hours.VTA has also proposed to fully name light rail lines by line color. Currently, VTA only refers to lines by their route number, or by their destination.
Track and Station Improvements
VTA has considered plans to increase the overall speed of its light rail system. These include adding fences along track on North First Street, which would increase speed along this corridor to 45 mph, and a new Great America station to better facilitate transfers to commuter rail.Extensions
In 2000, voters approved Measure A, which was to provide funding for two new light rail corridors. Some of the proposed corridors were through office parks in Sunnyvale and Cupertino, an extension further into Santa Teresa and to Coyote Valley, Stevens Creek Boulevard, El Camino Real, and routes in North County and Palo Alto. However, VTA ultimately opted to build line going through Campbell to Winchester and the Vasona Junction, a route along Alum Rock Avenue to Downtown San Jose, and an extension along Capitol Expressway.VTA completed most of the Vasona extension in 2005, and plans to begin construction on the light rail extension along Capitol Expressway in 2012. However, VTA lacked sufficient funds to build light rail along Alum Rock Avenue. The originally planned light rail route in Alum Rock, as well as one on El Camino Real, will instead be built as Bus Rapid Transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
(BRT).
Vasona Light Rail Extension
In 2005, VTA extended light rail service to Winchester station, completing most of a light rail extension to Los Gatos, CaliforniaLos Gatos, California
The Town of Los Gatos is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 29,413 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area at the southwest corner of San Jose in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains...
The extension is 1.57 miles long and will run alongside Union Pacific Railroad lines. Construction will include lengthening of platforms at the Winchester, Campbell, Hamilton, Bascom, Fruitdale and Race stations. Two new stations (Hacienda and Vasona) will be constructed with the entire project costs projected to be $157 million.