Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden (VTA)

Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden (commonly known as the Almaden Shuttle) 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,[2] and officially announced plans to terminate service on the line and replace it with bus 64a on December 28, 2019.[3]

Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden
Overview
TypeLight rail
SystemSanta Clara VTA Light Rail
LocaleSanta Clara County, California
Cities: San Jose
TerminiOhlone/Chynoweth Station
Almaden Station
Stations3
Operation
OpenedApril 25, 1991
ClosedDecember 27, 2019
Operator(s)Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Characterat-grade
Rolling stock99 Kinki Sharyo light rail vehicles
(low floor)
Technical
Line length1.25 mi (2 km)[1]
Number of tracks1 (except at the two terminals)
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
(standard gauge)
ElectrificationOverhead lines, 750 V DC
Route map
to Alum Rock
 Ohlone/Chynoweth
to Santa Teresa
SR 85
 Oakridge
 Almaden

On VTA maps, this line was colored purple, but VTA personnel does not call it the Purple Line, much less refer to it as the Line 900 on official documents.[4] The system's other two lines are the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa line and the Mountain View–Winchester line. Twice per day, a train from the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa line would throughrun from the VTA yards south of Gish station to serve the Almaden Shuttle. The train arrived from the yards early in the morning and left for the yards again after the last Almaden Shuttle run of the evening.

History

The entire Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line was constructed at the same time as the original Guadalupe line; both lines opened for revenue service in 1991. The line is a branch off of the main line but was served mainly by a shuttle service, known as the Almaden Shuttle, with a few through trains to/from downtown and points beyond in rush hour only. The few through trips were discontinued in January 1993.[5] The line is 1.25 mi (2 km) long and is single-track except at its two terminals.[1][6]

Once the line begins to parallel Winfield Boulevard, the Almaden line runs on the right-of-way of an abandoned branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This branch (known as the Lick Branch) once served the quicksilver mining area of New Almaden, located south of San Jose. In later years, it ended at the current site of the Almaden Light Rail Station and served a lumber yard. The freight railroad was abandoned in 1981.

A light rail car laying over at the outer end of the line in 1993

Ridership on the Almaden Shuttle was notoriously poor. The Almaden Shuttle was proposed for cancellation in 2003 and 2004 as part of massive agency-wide service cuts as a result of the dot-com bust, especially considering that for many Almaden Valley residents who choose transit, VTA's number 13 bus duplicates the Almaden Shuttle's service (providing service to downtown San Jose via the Alum Rock–Santa Teresa line with only one transfer.[7][8] If the Almaden Shuttle was canceled, it would have been the first federally-funded light rail line built after 1980 to ever cease service.[9] Ultimately, a decision was made to keep the shuttle and reduce service on parallel bus routes instead.

VTA closed all three stations on this line for renovation in April 2008 to provide level boarding at all doors.[10] In 2009, the line was again proposed to be discontinued, although modified weekend-only service was a possibility.[11]

In 2019, the Almaden Shuttle's color on system maps changed from orange to purple, in preparation for an Mountain View–Alum Rock Orange Line to be inaugurated later that year.[4] In a 2019 draft plan, VTA proposed to end service on the Ohlone/Chynoweth–Almaden line in favor of a Route 80 bus line;[2] the final approved plan called for termination of service on December 28, 2019, with the replacement being bus 64a.[3]

Station stops
Station Other lines Transfer to
Ohlone/Chynoweth
  Blue Line
 VTA: Alum Rock–Santa Teresa LRT, 13
Oakridge[note 1] VTA: 13
Almaden VTA: 13, 64
Notes
  1. Oakridge Mall is adjacent to this station.

Station facilities

All stations along this line had bike stations, and the Ohlone/Chynoweth and Almaden stations also had park-and-ride lots.

References
  1. Warner, David C. (April 1991). "San Jose: Guadalupe Corridor Line Completed". Passenger Train Journal. pp. 32–38. ISSN 0160-6913.
  2. "Proposed Light Rail Routes". Draft 2019 New Transit Service Plan. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  3. https://newservice.vta.org/changes. Retrieved November 26, 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "Light Rail Map". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  5. "World News [regular news section]". Light Rail and Modern Tramway. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. December 1993. p. 329. ISSN 0964-9255.
  6. Wolinsky, Julian (Summer 1997). "San Jose: Silicon Valley LRT". The New Electric Railway Journal. No. 36. pp. 31–37. ISSN 1048-3845.
  7. "Board Memorandum: January 2004 Transit Service Reduction Plan". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. July 30, 2003. Archived from the original on 2 May 2004.
  8. "VTA January 2004 Transit Service Reduction Plan revised August 2003". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 11 August 2003.
  9. "Hotline #294". Narprail. May 9, 2003. Archived from the original on 8 July 2003.
  10. "VTA Take-One" (PDF). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2012.
  11. Herhold, Scott (June 15, 2009). "Herhold: A little rail line in jeopardy". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 4 March 2019.

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