Media Kit » Try RailPrime™ Today! »
Progressive Railroading
Newsletter Sign Up
Stay updated on news, articles and information for the rail industry



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.




railPrime
View Current Digital Issue »



Rail News Home Passenger Rail

8/14/2018



Rail News: Passenger Rail

Santa Clara VTA cuts express light-rail service


For the past eight years, VTA has operated six express weekday trains on the Alum Rock-Santa Teresa line.
Photo – Santa Clara VTA

advertisement

[Editor's note: This story was updated at 1:35 p.m. CDT.]

Effective Oct. 8, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in California will end its express light-rail service to reduce the agency's operating costs.

The VTA has operated six express weekday trains for the past eight years on the Alum Rock-Santa Teresa line. The express service reduces commuting time by skipping stops between Convention Center and the Ohlone/Chynoweth Station in San Jose, California.

Although express trains will be eliminated, VTA's regular light-rail service will continue to run every 15 minutes, making stops at each station throughout the system.

VTA will add cars to regular trains if the service change causes a capacity issue, agency officials said in a press release.

Cutting the express service is slated to save the agency between $720,000 and $820,000 a year, depending on the number of extra cars needed to handle any shifts in passengers, VTA spokeswoman Holly Perez said in an email.

"These light-rail express trips were identified for discontinuation because these are discrete trips that are supplementary, not critical, to VTA's core light-rail service," Perez said, noting that the agency is facing a "structural deficit."