Santa Clara VTA light-rail system fully operational

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) light-rail system is now fully operational.  

The Green Line, from Diridon Station to Winchester Station, was the last segment of the system to be reactivated after a nearly four-month shutdown following a deadly mass shooting at the Guadalupe Light Rail Division May 26. 

Part of the Green Line from Old Ironsides to Diridon Station began running trains Sept. 12. Prior to that, as Santa Clara VTA light-rail employees made their way back to work in the wake of the tragedy, Santa Clara VTA’s Orange Line and part of the Blue Line opened Aug. 29, with the full Blue Line opening Sept. 4. The Diridon to Winchester expansion means the entire light-rail system is once again fully operational. 

Trains on the Blue Line from Baypointe to Santa Teresa will run from 5:00 a.m. to midnight on weekdays every 20 minutes until 8:00 p.m. when they’ll run every 30 to 45 minutes. The Green and Orange Line schedules are 5:30 a.m. to midnight on weekdays every 20 minutes, with 30-minute headways after 8:00 p.m.  

Crews are still working to repair one of two crossing gates damaged by automobiles last month at the intersection of Moorpark and Race Streets, near the Race St. station. Until the work is completed, as an added safety precaution, trains going through that intersection will stop and sound their horns before proceeding.  

Santa Clara VTA thanks its passengers for their patience and support as it emerges from an unspeakable tragedy. The agency notes employees are still grieving, but most are glad to be back at work, providing the service the community depends on. 

Free fare for light rail will continue through Sept. 30.