Blue Line (VTA)

The Blue Line, formerly the Alum Rock-Santa Teresa line, is a light rail route operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The Blue Line is one of three lines in the VTA Light Rail system; the other two are the Green Line and the Orange Line.

Blue Line
A Blue Line train stopped at Santa Teresa station
Overview
LocaleSanta Clara County, California
Cities: San Jose
TerminiBaypointe station
Santa Teresa station
Stations26
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemSanta Clara VTA Light Rail
Operator(s)Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Rolling stockKinki Sharyo light rail vehicles
(low floor)
History
OpenedDecember 11, 1987[1]
Technical
Line length17 mi (27.4 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead lines, 750 V DC
Highest elevationat grade, elevated
Route map
Orange Line
to Alum Rock Transit Center
Baypointe
Orange Line
to Downtown Mountain View
Green Line
to Old Ironsides
 Tasman
River Oaks
Orchard
Bonaventura
Component
Karina
US 101
 Metro/Airport
(via )
Gish
I-880
 Guadalupe Division
 Civic Center
Japantown/Ayer
Saint James
Santa Clara
Paseo de San Antonio
Convention Center
Green Line
to Winchester
 Children's Discovery Museum
SR 87
I-280
 Virginia
Tamien
Curtner
Capitol
Branham
SR 87
 Ohlone/Chynoweth
    
Almaden Shuttle
discontinued 2019
SR 85
 Blossom Hill
Snell
Cottle
SR 85
 Santa Teresa

Route description

From north to south, the Blue Line starts at Baypointe station in North San Jose, travels south on First Street, through downtown San Jose, until reaching the San Jose Convention Center where the line enters the median of State Route 87 (the Guadalupe Freeway), until it approaches the interchange with State Route 85, where it briefly exits the median to serve Ohlone/Chynoweth station and enters the median of State Route 85 to its terminus at the Santa Teresa station in South San Jose. The route is approximately 17 mi (27.4 km) long and takes approximately 55 minutes for the entire trip.[2]

Construction history

The Blue Line largely follows the path of VTA'a original Guadalupe line that opened in phases between December 11, 1987 and April 25, 1991.[1]

The first section of the Guadalupe line opened on December 11, 1987,[3] with 7.4 miles of track allowing trains to operate between Old Ironsides station, located near the California's Great America theme park, and a temporary station at First and Younger, near the junction of the branch running west on Younger to VTA's Guadalupe Division, the maintenance and storage yard for trains.[3] The section of track between Old Ironsides station and Tasman station is no longer served by Blue Line trains, but is still used by the Green Line.

A light rail car of the type in use until 2003, northbound on First St. in downtown, on the section of line that opened in June 1988

The second section of the Guadalupe line opened on June 17, 1988,[3] with 2.3 miles of track running from the Younger Street yard junction and Civic Center station in the north to Convention Center station in the south. This section also included a transit mall in downtown San Jose, where train tracks were laid into wide sidewalks, with nearby 1st Street (northbound) and 2nd Street (southbound) being narrowed down and having one lane dedicated to buses. The design allowed easy transfers between trains and buses, but because there is no clear delineation between the sidewalk and the track, pedestrians often unintentionally walk in front of trains, forcing VTA to slow trains to just 7.5 mph.[4]

The third section of the Guadalupe line opened on August 17, 1990,[3] with 1.7 miles of track running from Convention Center station to Tamien station, mostly in the median of State Route 87, the Guadalupe Freeway, after which the line was named, itself named after the nearby Guadalupe River. The freeway was built in the 1980s to accommodate the rail line with a large center median and provisions for stations.

The fourth and final section of the Guadalupe line opened on April 25, 1991,[3] with 9.7 miles of track, continuing down the median of State Route 87 until it approaches the interchange State Route 85, where the tracks briefly exit the median to serve Ohlone/Chynoweth station. After stopping at Ohlone/Chynoweth station, Blue Line trains enter the median of State Route 85 to continue on to Santa Teresa station in South San Jose. State Route 85 was also built to accommodate the light rail line, and had not opened to vehicle traffic when trains started running. The final section of the Guadalupe line also included a 1.25-mile (2 km) spur track to the Almaden Valley, that was served by the Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line[3] until December 2019, when it was eliminated due to low ridership.

Commuter Express light rail

On October 4, 2010, the VTA introduced a Commuter Express light rail service on this line, which operated between Baypointe and Santa Teresa stations. The service operated three trips in the morning (northbound to Baypointe) and three trips in the afternoon (southbound to Santa Teresa) that called at all stops, except for nonstop operation between the Convention Center and Ohlone/Chynoweth stations.[5] It offered free WiFi access on all trains on this service,[6] and promised time savings of six to eight minutes.[7] The Commuter Express service accounted for a small fraction of total Alum Rock – Santa Teresa service (530 weekday boardings in 2013, compared with more than 20,000 for the entire line),[5] and the Board of Directors voted to discontinue the Commuter Express effective October 2018.[8]

Station stops
Station Transfer to
Baypointe
Tasman
River Oaks
Orchard
Bonaventura
Component
Karina
Metro/Airport
Gish
Civic Center
Japantown/Ayer
Saint James
Santa Clara
Paseo de San Antonio
Convention Center
Children's Discovery Museum
  • VTA Bus: 23
Virginia
Tamien
Curtner
  • VTA Bus: 26
Capitol
  • VTA Bus: 37, 71
Branham
Ohlone/Chynoweth
  • VTA Bus: 64A, 83, 102
Blossom Hill
  • VTA Bus: 27
Snell
  • VTA Bus: 66, 102, 122
Cottle
  • VTA Bus: IBM shuttle, 27, 68
Santa Teresa
Notes

    Station facilities

    Many stops along this line have park-and-ride facilities for its passengers, as well as bike stations, including:

    • Alum Rock
    • Penitencia Creek
    • Hostetter
    • Great Mall/Main
    • I-880/Milpitas
    • River Oaks - also the stop for VTA's headquarters
    • Tamien
    • Curtner
    • Capitol
    • Branham
    • Ohlone/Chynoweth
    • Blossom Hill
    • Snell
    • Cottle
    • Santa Teresa

    References
    1. "VTA Facts: Light Rail System" (PDF). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. November 30, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2009. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
    2. "Blue Line timetable". www.vta.org. December 28, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
    3. Warner, David C. (April 1991). "San Jose: Guadalupe Corridor Line Completed". Passenger Train Journal. pp. 32–38. ISSN 0160-6913.
    4. Richards, Gary (June 26, 2018). "Slow trains in downtown San Jose may speed up". The Mercury News. Bay Area News Group. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
    5. VTA Service & Operations Planning (May 2, 2013). Transit Service Plan FY 2014 – FY 2015 (Report). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. pp. 23–24. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
    6. "VTA Debuts Free WiFi on New Commuter Express" (Press release). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. October 1, 2010. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011.
    7. Richards, Gary (October 4, 2010). "Roadshow: Riders like Wi-Fi on new light-rail express trains". The Mercury News. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
    8. Hendler Ross, Stacey (August 6, 2018). "Attention Express Light Rail Riders!" (Press release). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

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