Santa Clara and South Terminal Station Improvements

The Santa Clara and South Terminal Station Improvement Project is one of a number of projects aimed at bringing Caltrain up to a state of good repair in preparation for its plan to electrify the system by 2015.

Under this project, both the Santa Clara station and the San Jose Diridon station – both in the South Terminal area of the rail agency’s mainline – will be modernized and renovated to improve connections with regional rail services, improve safety and flexibility and, in conjunction with other future projects, will allow for future expansion of service.

Currently, the Santa Clara station has a narrow center boarding platform for northbound passengers and a second platform for southbound passengers. Three non-signalized at-grade pedestrian crossings connect the two platforms. Due to this configuration, Santa Clara is a “hold-out” station in which only one train may enter the station at a time. This limits the ability to move trains quickly through the station, adding to customers’ travel time.

The modernization project will add a new wider, longer center-boarding platform and extend the southern platform 150 feet. A new pedestrian underpass will connect the two platforms. This will allow two trains to pass through the station at the same time and improve safety for pedestrians at the station.

At the same time, the tracks in the station will be improved and reconfigured to improve rail operations. A track turnout at the southern end of the station will be relocated. When the work is complete, Altamont Commuter Express trains will resume its service to the Santa Clara station, which was suspended a few years ago, and Capitol Corridor may add this station stop to its schedule.

At the San Jose Diridon station, two new, fully-equipped boarding platforms will be built on the west side of the station, along tracks on each side of the platforms. The signal control points will be reconstructed at both ends of the terminal allowing quicker train movement in and out of the terminal. This is a critical improvement because during the peak-commute hours, trains move through the station every two minutes. Trains traveling through the station include Caltrain, ACE, Capitol Corridor, Amtrak Coast Starlight and Union Pacific freight trains.

Construction Cost
$40 million

Funding
Partial funding provided by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Altamont Commuter Express and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority

Construction Timeline
In preparation for construction, a former maintenance facility on the west side of the San Jose Diridon station will be demolished in March 2009. Construction is tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Download:
Factsheet (PDF, 115KB)

3/25/09 - rph/eeg