 Blue Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 A Blue Line train atOhlone/Chynoweth station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Santa Clara County, California | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 17 mi (27.4 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | Overhead lines, 750VDC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheBlue Line is alight rail line inSanta Clara County, California, and part of theSanta Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail system. It serves 26 stations entirely inSan Jose proper, traveling betweenBaypointe andSanta Teresa stations, stopping atSan Jose International Airport (via a bus connection),Downtown San Jose,San Jose State University, and theChildren's Discovery Museum of San Jose along the way. The line connects toCaltrain atTamien. The Blue Line is one of three lines in the VTA light rail system; the other two being theGreen Line and theOrange Line. It runs for 17 miles (27.4 km), making it the system's longest line.
From south to north, the Blue line starts atSanta Teresa station inSouth San Jose, then shortly enters the median ofState Route 85 until the interchange withState Route 87, where it exits the median and makes a sharp turn to serveOhlone/Chynoweth station. The route then travels along the median ofState Route 87 until just north of the interchange withInterstate 280, where the Blue line exits the median to serveChildren's Discovery Museum station. The Blue Line then immediately shares the tracks with theGreen Line as the two routes enterConvention 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 theOrange Line to its terminus atBaypointe. 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]
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The Blue Line largely follows the path of VTA's originalGuadalupe 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 betweenOld Ironsides station, located near theCalifornia's Great America theme park, and a temporary Civic Center station at First and Younger, near thejunction 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 andTasman 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 yardjunction and a new, permanentCivic Center station in the north toConvention Center station in the south. This section also included atransit 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 toTamien station, mostly in the median ofState Route 87, the Guadalupe Freeway, after which the line was named, itself named after the nearbyGuadalupe 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 interchangeState Route 85, where the tracks briefly exit the median to serveOhlone/Chynoweth station. After stopping at Ohlone/Chynoweth station, Blue Line trains enter the median of State Route 85 to continue on toSanta 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 theAlmaden Valley, that was served by theOhlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line[4] until December 2019, when it was eliminated due to low ridership.
On October 4, 2010, the VTA introduced a Commuter Express light rail service on this line, which operated betweenBaypointe andSanta 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 theConvention Center andOhlone/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 | Connections and notes |
|---|---|
| Baypointe(Northern terminus) |
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| Tasman |
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| River Oaks |
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| Orchard |
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| Bonaventura |  Green Line |
| Component | Green Line |
| Karina | Green Line |
| Metro/Airport |
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| Gish | Green Line |
| Civic Center |
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| Japantown/Ayer | Green Line |
| Saint James |
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| Santa Clara |
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| Paseo de San Antonio |
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| Convention Center |
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| Children's Discovery Museum | VTA Bus: 23 |
| Virginia | |
| Tamien |
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| Curtner |
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| Capitol |
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| Branham | |
| Ohlone/Chynoweth |
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| Blossom Hill |
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| Snell |
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| Cottle |
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| Santa Teresa(Southern terminus) |
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| VTA light rail |
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| Rail stations |
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| VTA bus | |||||||
| Other | |||||||
