Baypointe is an at-grade
light rail station located in the center median of Tasman Drive at its intersection with Baypointe Parkway, after which the station is named, in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
. The station is owned by
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, more commonly known simply as the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is a special district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement project ...
(VTA) and is served by the
Blue Line and the
Orange Line of the
VTA light rail
VTA Light Rail is a light rail system in San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County, California. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, or VTA, and consists of of network comprising three main lines on stand ...
system. Baypointe station is the current northern terminus for the Blue Line.
Baypointe station is differentiated from other VTA light rail stations as it features three tracks and two island platforms. Blue Line trains stop and reverse direction on the center track, while Orange Line trains use the two outer tracks. Passengers can make a
cross platform transfer with either line in any direction.
History
![Baypointe station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Baypointe_station.jpg)
Baypointe was built as part of the Tasman West extension which included the Baypointe station along with 11 other stations and of trackway west of the
Old Ironsides station (which was part of the original system opened in 1987).
Baypointe was designed to be a terminal/transfer station and consequently has a unique design with three tracks and two island platforms. The center track is a
pocket track
A pocket track, tail track, or reversing siding (UK: centre siding , turnback siding) is a rail track layout which allows trains to park off the main line. This type of track layout differs from a passing loop in that the pocket track is usuall ...
that allows trains to park and reverse direction off the mainline. There is an additional of pocket track east of the station allowing trains to be stored in the median of Tasman Drive.
When the Tasman West extension opened in December 1999, Baypointe station was the terminal and transfer station for what was then the "Baypointe–Mountain View" and the "Baypointe–Santa Teresa" lines. In May 2001, when the Tasman East light rail project (segment 1) extended the system to
I-880/Milpitas station (later renamed Alder station), the center track of Baypointe station served as the northern terminus for the "Baypointe–Santa Teresa" line and became a through station for the "Mountain View–I-880/Milpitas" line. In June 2004, when the Tasman East/Capitol extension opened, the line from Mountain View was changed to terminate on the center track of Baypointe station and the line from Santa Teresa continued eastward to
Alum Rock station
28th Street/Little Portugal station is a proposed underground Bay Area Rapid Transit station in the Little Portugal neighborhood of San Jose, California. It would be located north of East Santa Clara Street between North 28th Street and U.S. R ...
.
In August 2005, VTA reconfigured its light rail lines upon completion of the Vasona light rail extension (now part of today's Green Line). As part of this reconfiguration,
Tasman station
Tasman station is an at-grade light rail station located in the center median of First Street at its intersection with Tasman Drive, after which the station is named, in San Jose, California. The station is owned by Santa Clara Valley Transport ...
became the transfer point between the newly formed
Alum Rock–Santa Teresa and
Mountain View–Winchester lines. The center platform of Baypointe station would not see regular use for about five years.
The center platform was reactivated in 2010 for a VTA experiment in offering express light rail service on the Alum Rock-Santa Teresa line. These trains operated nonstop from Ohlone-Chynoweth to San Jose Convention Center. The three northbound morning and southbound afternoon trains used Baypointe as their terminal. The service proved unpopular and was discontinued in October 2018.
On December 28, 2019, the VTA system received a major reconfiguration in preparation for the opening of the Silicon Valley BART extension. The Orange Line was established as an east-west line between Mountain View and Alum Rock, using Baypointe as a through station on the outer tracks. At the same time, the Blue Line was truncated and used the center platform of Baypointe as its terminus. A timed
cross-platform transfer
A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines at a metro (or other railway) station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named. In the Un ...
is offered between Orange and Blue Line trains at Baypointe.
Service
Location
Baypointe station is located in the median of Tasman Drive just west of Baypointe Parkway in northern
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
. The address is 97 East Tasman Drive.
Station layout
References
{{Santa Clara VTA
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail stations
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus stations
Railway stations in San Jose, California
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1999
1999 establishments in California