This is San Jose, California. Serving a population of 1.9 million people, a network of light
rail lines connects this US city, servicing 62 stations across the county. Consisting
of 3 lines and 42 miles of track, the system travels across the city, with trains connecting
to various other transit systems across San Jose. But how did the system grow from its
original stations to the network it is today? My name’s Zach, and this is the Evolution of the Network.
This video is dedicated to the nine VTA light
rail employees who lost their lives on May 26, 2021. If you would like to support their
families, be sure to donate to the links in the description of this video.
The first phase of San Jose’s light rail network opened in December 1987, with a line
running north of downtown. Starting from a temporary station at Younger, the line travelled
north to Old Ironsides, with 12 new stations along the route. Five months later in May,
the temporary station at Younger was closed, with a short extension opening to a new stop
at Civic Center. The line was extended into downtown San Jose in June 1988, adding five
new stations to Convention Center. Two years later in August 1990, the line was extended
south of downtown, adding three more stations to Tamien. The initial system was finally
completed in April 1991, with eight more stations taking the line to the present terminus at
Santa Teresa. At the same time, a second light rail line was opened, with the Almaden Shuttle
meeting with the main line at Ohlone/Chynoweth station.
Santa Clara County Transit was rebranded in January 1995, with the agency assuming its
present name of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Two years later in March 1997,
an infill station opened near the northern end of the line, with trains now stopping
at Champion. In May 1999, construction on a new light rail line forced service to be
cut back from Old Ironsides, with trains now ending at Tasman. In December, the line was
extended one stop north, now ending at a new station at Baypointe. San Jose’s third light
rail line was also launched at that time, originating from the new Baypointe station.
The line ran west to service existing stops to Old Ironsides, before continuing to service
11 more stations to Mountain View. Two years later in May 2001, the line was extended east,
adding two more stations to I-880/Milpitas. That December, an infill station opened near
the western end of the line, with trains now stopping at Moffett Park.
Trains on the network were reconfigured in May 2004, in preparation for an extension
of the system. Trains on the Baypointe to Santa Teresa line were extended two stops
west, now ending at I-880/Milpitas. The Mountain View to I-880/Milpitas line was cut back to
Baypointe at that time, reducing duplication on this section of the network. On month later
in June, an eight stop extension of the I-880/Milpitas to Santa Teresa line was opened, taking trains
to Alum Rock. More extensions of the light rail system were opened in August 2005, with
the Mountain View to Baypointe line being cut back one stop to Champion, and extended
south along through downtown to San Jose’s Diridon Station. The extension provided a
one seat ride into downtown, as well as provided connections to commuter rail and Amtrak services.
Two months later in October, the Mountain View to Diridon line was extended further
south, adding six more stations to the present terminus at Winchester.
Ten years later in March 2015, Evelyn station near the western end of the Mountain View
to Winchester line was closed, to allow for double tracking work to take place through
the station site. San Jose’s first dedicated bus lanes launched in April 2017, with a 1.4-mile
median busway opening along Alum Rock Avenue. Running from Capitol Avenue to 33rd Street,
the busway services two enhanced stations, with vehicles continuing in mixed traffic
at both ends of the route. Service on the light rail network was reconfigured
in December 2019, in preparation for a future subway extension into San Jose. Service on
the Almaden shuttle was discontinued, having failed to attract significant ridership over
its 28-year history. A new line was also introduced, with the orange line running across northern
San Jose from Mountain View to Alum Rock. With this change, trains on the Green and
Blue lines were cut back, with Blue line trains now ending at Baypointe, and Green line trains
now ending at Old Ironsides. Two stations on the orange line were also renamed at this
time, with I-880/Milpitas becoming Alder, and Montague becomes Milpitas.
Finally in June 2020, subway service began in San Jose, with an extension of San Francisco’s
BART network into the county. Two new stations were opened to Berryessa/North San Jose, including
an interchange with the Orange line at Milpitas. You can learn more about the Evolution of
San Francisco’s BART network by clicking the button in the top right corner. This brings
us to the San Jose light rail map that we know today.
That was the evolution of San Jose’s light rail network, giving us the three lines that
we know today. If you haven’t already, be sure to watch our video on the evolution of
San Jose’s commuter rail network, which you can access by clicking the button in the
top right corner. Don’t forget to leave a like if you enjoyed this video, and comment
down below to join in the discussion. My name’s Zach, and I’ll be Vanishing Underground, until the next one.