Santa Clara station (California) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Santa Clara
Santa Clara station in 2012
Location	1001 Railroad Avenue Santa Clara, California
Coordinates	37°21′11″N 121°56′11″W / 37.35306°N 121.93639°W / 37.35306; -121.93639
Owned by	Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board
Line(s)	Peninsula Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks	5
Connections	VTA Bus: 21, 22, 53, 59, 60, 522
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Lockers available
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	SCC
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	Late 1863
Rebuilt	2005–2012
Original company	Southern Pacific
Traffic
Passengers (Feb 2018)	1,097 (weekday average)  6.1% (Caltrain)
Passengers (2018)	56,127 (annual)  24.4% (Amtrak)
Rank	37th in California (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Santa Clara – Great America toward Auburn Capitol Corridor San Jose Terminus      Coast Starlight does not stop here Preceding station Caltrain Following station Lawrence toward San Francisco Local College Park toward San Jose Diridon, Tamien or Gilroy Limited San Jose Diridon toward San Jose Diridon, Tamien or Gilroy Preceding station Altamont Corridor Express Following station Great America toward Stockton San Jose – Stockton San Jose Terminus
Former services Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station Lawrence toward San Francisco Coast Line San Jose toward Los Angeles Peninsula Commute College Park toward San Jose Agnew toward Oakland Pier Oakland – San Jose San Jose Terminus Mountain View toward San Francisco Del Monte San Jose toward Monterey
Santa Clara Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Santa Clara, California
Built	1863
NRHP reference No.	85000359
Added to NRHP	February 28, 1985

The Santa Clara Depot is a busy train station in Santa Clara, California. It's one of two main train stations in the city. This station is a stop for Caltrain services, which connect to San Francisco. It also serves the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) trains, which travel to Stockton. ACE service was paused for a while from 2005 to 2012 because of track construction.

The Santa Clara station has two main areas for passengers to board trains. There's a side platform for Caltrains heading south (Track 3). There's also an island platform for Caltrains going north (Track 2) and for ACE/Amtrak trains (Track 1). A special tunnel, finished in 2012, connects the island platform to the side platform, making it easy for people to move between them. Other tracks nearby are used by Union Pacific freight trains, which carry goods.

The platforms were updated in 2012. This change meant that more than one train could enter the station at a time. It also allowed ACE and Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains to stop here. The Santa Clara Depot is planned to be the final stop for the Silicon Valley BART extension. This will connect Santa Clara County to the BART system, offering direct service to San Francisco/Daly City and Richmond.

History of the Santa Clara Depot

April 1971

The Santa Clara Depot was built in late 1863 by the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad. It was the oldest train station in California that was always open, until its ticket office closed in May 1997.

Building the First Train Station

The original station building was 24 by 50 feet (about 7.3 by 15.2 meters). It was one of only two "way stations" built between San Francisco and San Jose. People started planning a railroad between San Francisco and San Jose as early as 1851. While that first plan didn't work out, the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad company was successfully started in 1859.

Most of the money for the project came from the governments of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. The University of Santa Clara and local businesses also helped a lot. They bought shares in the company and helped choose where the station would be built in Santa Clara.

Early Train Service and Growth

The first passenger train service to San Francisco began in January 1864. A few years later, in 1868, the Southern Pacific Railroad bought the San Francisco & San Jose Railroad. The station building was originally on the east side of the tracks. In 1877, it was moved to its current spot and connected to a larger building that was used for freight (shipping goods). This freight building had been built a few years earlier. Because so many farm products were shipped from the station, the freight building was made even bigger at that time.

On November 1, 1877, the San Jose Mercury newspaper reported that the station was almost finished. After the railroad was built, farming and fruit-related businesses grew in the Santa Clara area. The depot became a key place for shipping their products. Train service provided a direct link to San Francisco. By the late 1870s, it also connected to Southern California. For example, James A. Dawson started the area's fruit-canning industry in 1871. By the early 1900s, the Pratt-Low Preserving Company, a very large fruit packing plant, was located just south of the depot.

Saving a Historic Building

The California Department of Transportation took over the depot from Southern Pacific in 1980. In 1985, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which recognizes important historical sites. In 1986, a group called the South Bay Historical Railroad Society, which started that same year, began working to fix up the depot. It really needed repairs.

Volunteers spent over 25,000 hours cleaning up, replacing old wood, fixing the outside and inside floors, scraping off peeling paint, and making many other repairs. The main renovation was finished in 1992. Today, this 156-year-old building is home to a railroad library and museum. It has two large model train layouts and many other historical items. It still works as a passenger train station too!

Train Services at Santa Clara Station

The new pedestrian tunnel as it appeared in 2012

The Santa Clara station is an important intermodal transportation center. This means it connects different types of transportation. It offers Caltrain and Altamont Corridor Express train services. It also has bus services run by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). There are many bus routes, including express buses and, since July 2005, VTA's special bus rapid transit service.

There is also a free shuttle bus from the station to the San Jose International Airport. This shuttle, called the SJC Airport Flyer (Route 10), is run by both the VTA and the airport.

Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains started stopping at the station on May 21, 2012. This gave Caltrain a second direct connection to Amtrak services.

The station is also close enough to walk to Earthquakes Stadium, a sports venue.

Future Transit Plans

This station is expected to be the final stop for the second phase of the Silicon Valley BART extension. This project aims to extend the BART train system south from its current end point at Berryessa station. Santa Clara was chosen as the planned final stop for a few reasons. It offers easy access to the San Jose International Airport. Also, a new BART maintenance facility is planned near the station, where an old Union Pacific rail yard used to be.

A new island platform will be built at the station, along with an underground walkway to connect to the Caltrain platform. Plans also include a parking area with 800 spaces. The VTA also hopes to build new businesses and homes near the station, which is called transit-oriented development.

A project is being thought about to replace the Airport Flyer bus service with a people mover. This would be like the AirTrain JFK, which helps people get to train stations at airports. The future of this project is not yet known because of how it would be funded.

The station was once considered for the California High-Speed Rail project. However, it was decided that it was too close to the larger Diridon Station in San Jose. Also, the airport traffic it would get wasn't enough to justify having a separate station. Later plans for the high-speed rail system decided that two stations on the Peninsula would be enough. One would serve the larger San Francisco International Airport (likely using the existing Millbrae Station with a BART connection). The other would be in Palo Alto or Redwood City. As of 2018, the only station planned between San Jose and San Francisco for high-speed rail is Millbrae.

Bus Connections

The station is served by VTA Bus routes 21, 22, 53, 59, 60, and 522.

Images for kids

• 

  Santa Clara station in 2012

• 

  Coast Daylight train at Santa Clara station, April 1971

• 

  The new pedestrian tunnel at Santa Clara station, 2012

• Amtrak – Stations – Santa Clara

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service.