The San Jose Diridon VTA Light Rail Station on the Mountain View to Winchester Line opened on August 1, 2005 and was the terminus of this extension for two months until the rest of the Winchester Line was finished and opened on October 1. The opening of the station created a large restructuring of service. Service to Mountain View was originally provided on the northern half of today's Mountain View—Winchester Line only to Bay Point (in Santa Clara) where passengers could transfer to the Alum Rock—Santa Teresa to reach downtown San Jose. The opening of the then only two stop extension to San Jose Diridon resulted in the rerouting of the line from Mountain View into Downtown (and no longer to Baypoint) giving these passengers the one-seat ride into Downtown they have today and providing two routes of service along the core portion of the VTA along 1 Street.
The station itself has two side platforms on the western side of the mainline tracks for San Jose Diridon Station, on the opposite side of the tracks from the main train station. The station is grade-separated except for the two pedestrian crossings at either end of the platforms connecting them. Two platforms each have two black with brown roofs canopy structures (with the normal windscreens) brick is used along fencing. Sheets of silver along the platform and more subtle areas of glass by Diana Pumpelly Bates use the stems of palm fronds for inspiration for the station's unique design.
Just north of the station the train line goes downhill and into a tunnel beneath the northern end of the mainline train tracks and platforms and finally reemerging (making half an S-curve) a block due east of the main station building. Passengers connect from the Light Rail to Amtrak, Caltrain and ACE trains by walking downhill along the tracks (also going down) that is a fenced off, exposed to the elements extension of the northbound platform and two the level of the pedestrian subway that connects all 5 of the heavy rail platforms and leads to the main station on the opposite side of the tracks. Access is also provided to a new transit oriented development with Laurel Grove Lane parallel to the Winchester-bound platform, the northern end of the Winchester-bound track extends as a pedestrian walkway above the tracks going down to the tunnel portal leading to White Street (a dead-end alley) and then major Santa Clara Street.
Photos 1-8: 17 July, 2010, 9-22: 20 February, 2012
Race