San Jose, California

San Jose VTA light rail system operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority. The cars are standard gauge Kinki Sharyo products built around 2002, each weighing in at 48.5 tons and capable of carrying 64 seated riders and 106 standees. The 99 cars operate on 750VDC, and can run singly or in multiples up to three. VTA’s light rail system serves the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and Campbell via 62 stations, 42.2 route miles, and four routes. The switch photo illustrates the junction at Tasman station. Downtown street operations are limited to 10 mph, and as seen in some of the photos, there are some rather tight turns. On dedicated right-of-way the units can hit 55 mph. All photos © by Alan Coleman, March 2011