Warm Springs/South Fremont station

Warm Springs/South Fremont
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Warm Springs/South Fremont station in 2017
Location 45193 Warm Springs Boulevard
Fremont, California
Coordinates 37°30′11″N 121°56′24″W / 37.503°N 121.940°W / 37.503; -121.940Coordinates: 37°30′11″N 121°56′24″W / 37.503°N 121.940°W / 37.503; -121.940
Owned by Bay Area Rapid Transit
Line(s) BART S-Line
Platforms 1 island platform
Connections AC Transit: 215, 217, 239
VTA: 180, 181, 251
Construction
Parking 2,082 spaces
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened March 25, 2017[1]
Services
Preceding station   Bay Area Rapid Transit   Following station
toward Richmond
Richmond–​Warm Springs/South FremontTerminus
toward Daly City
Warm Springs/South Fremont–​Daly City
Future services (2019)
Preceding station   Bay Area Rapid Transit   Following station
toward Richmond
Richmond–​Berryessa/​​North San José
toward Daly City
Berryessa/​​North San José–​Daly City

Warm Springs/South Fremont station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in the Warm Springs district of Fremont, California, United States. Served by the Warm Springs/South Fremont–Daly City line and Richmond-Warm Springs/South Fremont line, the station is the southern terminus of BART in the East Bay. After numerous delays during construction, Warm Springs/South Fremont station opened on March 25, 2017 as the first phase of the BART extension into Silicon Valley.

The station has an island platform between the surface-level BART tracks, with a fare mezzanine above the platform. A footbridge connects the mezzanine to a rotunda which serves as the station entrance.

History

Planning

The station under construction in January 2014

Planning for the Warm Springs extension around 1994; by 1998, BART estimated it would cost $550 million, with 7,800 daily riders by 2010.[2] A 1994 study by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission forecast 3,200 daily riders in 2010.[2]

BART held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Warm Springs Extension in September 2009, with completion then expected in 2014.[3] Construction of the station began in 2011.[4] The BART Board of Directors officially named the station Warm Springs/South Fremont on May 24, 2012. The name combined the historic neighborhood name of Warm Springs (the station name during planning) with the modern South Fremont designator.[5]

Opening

A train at the station in October 2017

The Warm Springs Extension suffered a series of delays from the original 2014 planned opening.[6][7] BART power cables unexpectedly needed replacement, and the new train control system on the extension proved difficult to integrate with the original train control system on the rest of BART.[7] By September 2016, BART planned to open the station the next month, which newspapers labeled an "October surprise" - a news event for the November 8 vote on a BART bond measure - but this did not occur.[8][9] The yet-to-open station was fully staffed beginning in September 2016 because BART union positions are only reassigned twice per year.[6]

The station ultimately opened on March 25, 2017.[1][10] The conceptual design of the station was by local architect Robin Chiang, with final design by HNTB. San Francisco Chronicle architecture critic John King praised the entrance rotunda with Catherine Widgery’s “Sky Cycles” artwork, but criticized the rotunda being scaled down from Chiang's design, as well as the lack of seating on the platform.[11]

Because of delays with new BART railcars entering service, the station was initially served only by one line at a time (the Warm Springs/South Fremont–Daly City line on weekdays before 6pm, and the Richmond-Warm Springs/South Fremont line at other times), with the other line running only to Fremont.[12] On September 10, 2018, both lines began running to Warm Springs/South Fremont for their full operating hours.[13] Some VTA bus service will switch from Fremont to Warm Springs/South Fremont on October 8, 2018 as a result of the increased service.[14]

Adjacent development

Warm Springs/South Fremont station is the centerpiece of the 880-acre (360 ha) Warm Springs Community Plan area, which the city of Fremont designated for federally-assisted transit oriented development projects with higher density than the rest of Warm Springs.[15][16] The Union Pacific Railroad (UP) Warm Springs Subdivision runs just west of the Warm Springs Extension tracks. In 2011, UP purchased 160 acres (65 ha) of land adjacent to the former NUMMI plant across the parallel tracks from the under-construction station, intending to build a rail yard.[17] The city, which had included that land in its development plans, hired a lobbyist in an attempt to accelerate the development and prevent the construction of the rail yard.[18] In May 2015, housing developer Lennar Corporation bought the northern 111 acres (45 ha) of the land from UP.[19]

In February 2016, the city approved plans for a cable-stayed pedestrian and bicycle bridge connecting the station mezzanine to a new plaza on the west side of the tracks. The bridge, then planned for completion in 2018, will provide access from the new developments and the adjacent Tesla Factory, which has no convenient pedestrian route to the station because of the rail lines.[20] During the bidding process, the cost of the bridge was increased from $25 million to $35 million, and completion delayed to 2020.[21]

Bus connections

Bus bays in June 2018

Seven bus bays south of the rotunda are used by AC Transit routes 215, 217, and 239; VTA routes 180 and 181; and private shuttles.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 "Community celebrates ribbon cutting of Warm Springs" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 24, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Bowman, Catherine (February 9, 1998). "Battle Over BART to South Bay". San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. ↑ "BART breaks ground on subway section of Warm Springs Extension" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. September 30, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Warm Springs Extension Construction Schedule". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ "BART's next station named: Warm Springs/South Fremont" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. May 24, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Matier, Phil; Ross, Andy (February 13, 2017). "BART has plenty of staffers at station with no trains or riders". San Francisco Chronicle.
  7. 1 2 Matier, Phil; Ross, Andy (January 18, 2017). "BART has been promising an extension. Where is it?". San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. ↑ Matier, Phil; Ross, Andy (September 12, 2016). "BART's October surprise for bond vote: Opening a new station". San Francisco Chronicle.
  9. ↑ Rauber, Chris (October 10, 2016). "BART director: New Warm Springs station expected to open before Election Day". San Francisco Business Journal.
  10. ↑ Cabanatuan, Michael (March 11, 2017). "BART's long-awaited Warm Springs extension to open March 25". San Francisco Chronicle.
  11. ↑ King, John (March 26, 2017). "New BART station a drum roll for ambitious goals". San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. ↑ Cabanatuan, Michael (April 4, 2017). "BART extension to San Jose on track, but new cars delayed". San Francisco Chronicle.
  13. ↑ "Direct service to/from Warm Springs now available as part of schedule change" (Press release). Bay Area Rapid Transit District. September 7, 2018.
  14. 1 2 "VTA route changes at Fremont & Warm Springs 10/8" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. October 2, 2018.
  15. ↑ Donato-Weinstein, Nathan (June 2, 2014). "Lennar buying 100 acres as developers encircle Fremont's new BART station". San Jose Business Journal.
  16. ↑ "Warm Springs/South Fremont Station" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. 2017.
  17. ↑ Artz, Matthew (January 14, 2011). "Fremont calls Union Pacific land purchase 'terrible'". East Bay Times.
  18. ↑ Matthew Artz (June 11, 2011). "Fremont hires lobbyist to help with development". Oakland Tribune.
  19. ↑ Donato-Weinstein, Nathan (May 5, 2015). "Here's what Lennar paid Union Pacific for 111 acres in Fremont". San Jose Business Journal.
  20. ↑ Parr, Rebecca (February 11, 2016). "Fremont approves Warm Springs BART station bridge project". San Jose Mercury News.
  21. ↑ Geha, Joseph (July 12, 2018). "Cost for new Warm Springs BART pedestrian bridge rises before shovels hit ground".
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