San José is located about 75 km south of San Francisco, at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay. With 930,000 inhabitants, it is the third largest city in California. The Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley) includes San José's neighbouring cities like Palo Alto, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Campbell. The Santa Clara County is home to some 1.8 million people.

Light rail system

- operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
- 68 km
- 61 stops with low platforms
- low-floor vehicles (manufactured by Kinki Sharyo)
- runs in the median of a freeway between Virginia and Branham, and between Blossom Hill and Cottle
- some single-track sections on Winchester leg: Diridon - Fruitdale, Bascom - Downtown Campbell; also between Downtown Mountain View and Whisman; and Ohlone/Chynoweth - Almaden shuttle;
- elevated section on the Alum Rock leg with two elevated stations, at Great Mall/Main and Montague
- elevated (single-track) station at Hamilton
- basic 15-minute headway; every 30 min during off-peak on Green Line

- opened Dec. 1987-2001: Mountain View - Milpitas; Santa Teresa - Baypointe; Ohlone/Chynoweth - Almaden (48.8 km)
23 June 2004: Alum Rock branch (Capitol extension - 10.2 km)
01 Oct 2005: Winchester branch (Vasona extension - 8.5 km)
15 Mar 2015: Evelyn stop (between Downtown Mountain View and Whisman) permanently closed to allow double-tracking

28 Dec 2019: Service on single-track Almaden shuttle indefinitely suspended and network restuctured:

Orange Line: Mountain View - Alum Rock
Blue Line: Baypointe - Santa Teresa
Green Line: Old Ironsides - Winchester

The Winchester branch is planned to be extended to Vasona Junction, with one intermediate station at Hacienda (2.5 km).
The Alum Rock branch is planned to be extended to the Eastridge Transit Center. Light rail will operate primarily in the center of Capitol Expressway with elevated track structures crossing Capitol Avenue, Story Road, and Tully Road. There will be two intermediate stations: Story Road, Ocala Avenue (optional).

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA - Official Site)

BART Silicon Valley > San Jose Extension

ACE (Altamont Commuter Express)

Caltrain

Extensive report and many photos at nysubway.org

VTA Light Rail at Wikipedia

LightRailNow

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