Blue Line (VTA)

Blue Line
Blue Line
	A Blue Line train at Ohlone/Chynoweth station
Overview
Locale	Santa Clara County, California
Termini	Baypointe station ; Santa Teresa station ;
Stations	26
Service
Type	Light rail
System	VTA light rail
Operator(s)	Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Rolling stock	Kinki Sharyo light rail vehicles
History
Opened	December 11, 1987
Technical
Line length	17 mi (27.4 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead lines, 750 V DC
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Orange Line
	to Alum Rock
	Orange Line
	to Downtown Mountain View
	Green Line
	to Old Ironsides
	Green Line
	to Winchester
	Almaden Shuttle
	discontinued 2019
	All stations are accessible
	This diagram: view ; talk ; edit ;

Last updated November 15, 2024

The Blue Line is a light rail line in Santa Clara County, California, and part of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail system. It serves 26 stations entirely in San Jose proper, traveling between Baypointe and Santa Teresa stations, stopping at San Jose International Airport (via a bus connection), Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University, and the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose along the way. The line connects to Caltrain at Tamien. The Blue Line is one of three lines in the VTA light rail system; the other two being the Green Line and the Orange Line. It runs for 17 miles (27.4 km), making it the system's longest line.

Route description

From south to north, the Blue line starts at Santa Teresa station in South San Jose, then shortly enters the median of State Route 85 until the interchange with State Route 87, where it exits the median and makes a sharp turn to serve Ohlone/Chynoweth station. The route then travels along the median of State Route 87 until just north of the interchange with Interstate 280, where the Blue line exits the median to serve Children's Discovery Museum station. The Blue Line then immediately shares the tracks with the Green Line as the two routes enter Convention Center station and through most of downtown and North San Jose along 1st Street until the Blue Line separates from the Green Line at Tasman station and joins the Orange Line to its terminus at Baypointe. Trains take approximately 55 minutes to complete the entire trip.^[2]

The line formerly ran past Baypointe station serving stops all the way to Alum Rock. However, after the 2019 New Transit service plan, the line was cut back and service east of Baypointe is now served by the Orange Line.^[3]

Construction history

The Blue Line largely follows the path of VTA's 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,^[4] with 7.4 miles (11.9 km) of track allowing trains to operate between Old Ironsides station, located near the California's Great America theme park, and a temporary Civic Center 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.^[4] 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.

The second section of the Guadalupe line opened about six months later on June 17, 1988,^[4] with 2.3 miles (3.7 km) of track running from the Younger Street yard junction and a new, permanent 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 an average speed of just 7.5 miles per hour (12.1 km/h).^[5]

The third section of the Guadalupe line opened a year later on August 17, 1990,^[4] with 1.7 miles (2.7 km) 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 the following year on April 25, 1991,^[4] with 9.7 miles (15.6 km) 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. The line was constructed at the same time as State Route 85, which was also built to accommodate the light rail line in its median, and had not yet opened to vehicle traffic when trains started running.

The fourth and 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 ^[4] 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.^[6] It offered free WiFi access on all trains on this service,^[7] and promised time savings of six to eight minutes.^[8] Ridership was low, with Commuter Express trains serving 530 of the more than 20,000 daily riders on the line.^[6] The board of directors voted to discontinue the Commuter Express effective October 2018.^[9]

Station stops

Station	Connections and notes
Baypointe	Orange Line VTA Bus: 59 ACE Shuttle: Brown, Purple
Tasman	Green Line VTA Bus: 59 ACE Shuttle: Brown
River Oaks	Green Line ACE Shuttle: Brown Park and ride
Orchard	Green Line VTA Bus: 20
Bonaventura	Green Line
Component	Green Line
Karina	Green Line
Metro/Airport	Green Line VTA Bus: 60
Gish	Green Line
Civic Center	Green Line VTA Bus: 61
Japantown/Ayer	Green Line
Saint James	Green Line VTA Bus: 72, 73
Santa Clara	Green Line Highway 17 Express Monterey-Salinas Transit: 55 VTA Bus: 22, 23, 64A, 64B, 66, 68, 72, 73, Rapid 500, Rapid 522, Rapid 523, Rapid 568
Paseo de San Antonio	Green Line VTA Bus: 23, 66, 68, 168, Rapid 523, Rapid 568
Convention Center	Green Line VTA Bus: 23, 168, Rapid 523
Children's Discovery Museum	VTA Bus: 23
Virginia
Tamien	Caltrain: Local (limited service), Weekend Local (limited service), South County Connector VTA Bus: 25, 56 Park and ride
Curtner	VTA Bus: 26 Park and ride
Capitol	VTA Bus: 37, 70 Park and ride
Branham
Ohlone/Chynoweth	VTA Bus: 64A, 83, 102 Park and ride
Blossom Hill	VTA Bus: 27 Park and ride
Snell	VTA Bus: 66, 102 Park and ride
Cottle	VTA Bus: 27, 68 Park and ride
Santa Teresa	VTA Bus: 42, 68, 102 Park and ride

Related Research Articles

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, more commonly known simply as the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is a special district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California. It serves San Jose, California, and the surrounding Silicon Valley. It is one of the governing parties for the Caltrain commuter rail line that serves the county. In 2023, the VTA's public transportation services had a combined ridership of 26,610,000, or about 91,400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

State Route 87, known as the Guadalupe Freeway or referred to by the locals as Highway 87, is a north–south state highway in San Jose, California, United States. Before being upgraded to a freeway, it was Guadalupe Parkway.

San Jose Diridon station is the central passenger rail depot for San Jose, California. It also serves as a major intermodal transit center for Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley. The station is named after former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon Sr.

The Green Line is a light rail line in Santa Clara County, California, and part of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail system. It serves 26 stations in the cities of Santa Clara, San Jose, and Campbell, traveling between Old Ironsides and Winchester stations. The line connects Levi's Stadium, San Jose International Airport, Downtown San Jose, San Jose State University, SAP Center, Diridon station, and Downtown Campbell. It runs for 20 hours per day on weekdays, with headways of 15 minutes for most of the day. On weekends, train run at 20 minute headways for most of the day. After around 8pm on weekdays and weekends trains run at 30 minute headways.

River Oaks station is an at-grade light rail station located in the center median of First Street at its intersection with River Oaks Parkway, after which the station is named, in San Jose, California. The station is owned by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and is served by the Blue Line and the Green Line of the VTA light rail system.

Great America station is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Great America is served by the Orange and Green light rail lines. Great America is named for the nearby California's Great America theme park and is the closest station to Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.

Children's Discovery Museum station is an at-grade light rail station on the Blue Line of the VTA light rail system. The station platform runs along Woz Way and serves the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, after which the station is named. Just south of this station, the Blue Line enters the median of California State Route 87.

Baypointe station is an at-grade light rail station located in the center median of Tasman Drive at its intersection with Baypointe Parkway, after which the station is named, in San Jose, California. The station is owned by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and is served by the Blue Line and the Orange Line of the VTA light rail system. Baypointe station is the current northern terminus for the Blue Line.

Tamien station is an intermodal passenger transportation station in the Tamien neighborhood of central San Jose, California, served by the VTA light rail and the Caltrain commuter rail line, along with bus connections. The station has two elevated island platforms, one for each service. The two platforms are connected by a walkway at ground-level that is below the two platforms. The light rail platform is located in the center median of the State Route 87 freeway just north of the Alma Avenue overpass. The Caltrain platform is located just to the east, between Lick Avenue and State Route 87 and just north of Alma Avenue.

Capitol station is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Capitol station is served by the Blue Line of the VTA light rail system. The Capitol is located in the median of State Route 87, near the intersection with Capitol Expressway in San Jose, California.

Branham station is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The station is served by the Blue Line of the VTA light rail system and is connected to the Highway 87 bikeway. Branham station is located in the median of State Route 87, near Branham Lane in San Jose, California. It was part of the original Guadalupe Line, the first segment of light rail from Santa Teresa to Tasman.

Blossom Hill station is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The station is served by the Blue Line of the VTA light rail system. Blossom Hill station is located in the median of State Route 85, just north of Blossom Hill Road in San Jose, California. It was part of the original Guadalupe Line, the first segment of light rail from Santa Teresa to Tasman.

Snell station is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The station is served by the Blue Line of the VTA light rail system. It was part of the original Guadalupe Line, the first segment of light rail from Santa Teresa to Tasman. Snell station is located in the median of State Route 85, near Snell Avenue in the southern part of San Jose, California.

Cottle station is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The station is served by the Blue Line of the VTA light rail system. It was part of the original Guadalupe Line, the first segment of light rail from Santa Teresa to Tasman.

Santa Teresa station is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). This station is the southern terminus of the Blue Line of the VTA light rail system. It was built in the late 1980s as part of the original Guadalupe Line, the first segment of light rail that stretched to Tasman in northern San Jose.

Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden was a short light rail route operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in southern San Jose, California, with three stops. Service into the Almaden Valley was also provided by VTA bus route 13, which also entirely duplicates the light rail service. VTA proposed to end service on the Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line in late 2019, and officially announced plans to terminate service on the line and replace it with bus 64a on December 28, 2019.

The VTA light rail system serves San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County, California. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and has 42.2 miles (67.9 km) of network comprising three main lines on standard gauge tracks. Originally opened on December 11, 1987, the light rail system has expanded since then, and currently has 60 stations in operation.

Ohlone/Chynoweth station is a light rail station on the VTA light rail system. The station is served by the system's Blue Line.

The Orange Line is a light rail line in Santa Clara County, California, and part of the VTA light rail system. It serves 26 stations in the cities of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Milpitas, and San Jose, traveling between Downtown Mountain View and Alum Rock stations, stopping at Ames Research Center, Great America, and Levi's Stadium along the way. The line connects to Caltrain at Mountain View and to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system at Milpitas station. The line runs for 20 hours per day on weekdays, with headways of 15 minutes for most of the day. On weekends, the train runs at 20-minute headways for most of the day. After around 8 pm on weekdays and weekends trains run at 30-minute headways.

References

1 2 "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.
↑ "Blue Line timetable". www.vta.org. December 28, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
↑ "VTA Releases Final Recommendations for 2019 New Transit Service Plan | VTA". www.vta.org. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Warner, David C. (April 1991). "San Jose: Guadalupe Corridor Line Completed". Passenger Train Journal . pp. 32–38. ISSN 0160-6913.
↑ 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.
1 2 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.
↑ "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.
↑ Richards, Gary (October 4, 2010). "Roadshow: Riders like Wi-Fi on new light-rail express trains". The Mercury News . Retrieved March 4, 2019.
↑ Hendler Ross, Stacey (August 6, 2018). "Attention Express Light Rail Riders!" (Press release). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.

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[2006_Fact_Sheet-1] 1 2 "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] "VTA Releases Final Recommendations for 2019 New Transit Service Plan | VTA". www.vta.org. Retrieved May 17, 2021.

[PTJ-1991apr-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Warner, David C. (April 1991). "San Jose: Guadalupe Corridor Line Completed". Passenger Train Journal . pp. 32–38. ISSN 0160-6913.

[5] 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.

[FY2014-6] 1 2 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.

[7] "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.

[8] Richards, Gary (October 4, 2010). "Roadshow: Riders like Wi-Fi on new light-rail express trains". The Mercury News . Retrieved March 4, 2019.

[9] Hendler Ross, Stacey (August 6, 2018). "Attention Express Light Rail Riders!" (Press release). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.

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