Great America station

Great America
Green Line (VTA) Orange Line (VTA)
Great America station in May 2023.
General information
Location2799 Tasman Drive
Santa Clara, California
Coordinates37°24′13″N 121°58′28″W / 37.403523°N 121.974442°W / 37.403523; -121.974442
Owned bySanta Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Line(s)Guadalupe Phase 1
Platforms1 island platform
1 side platform
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Bicycle facilitiesLockers[3]
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedDecember 11, 1987 (1987-12-11)[4]
Rebuilt2014
Services
Preceding station VTA light rail Following station
Old Ironsides
Terminus
Green Line Lick Mill
toward Winchester
Old Ironsides Orange Line Lick Mill
toward Alum Rock
Location
Map

Great America station (officially Great America/Levi's Stadium station) is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Great America is served by the Orange and Green light rail lines. Great America is named for the nearby California's Great America theme park and is the closest station to Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.

From the station platforms, the entrance to Levi's Stadium is a 15 mile (0.32 km) walk and the entrance to the Great America theme park is a 25 mile (0.64 km) walk.

Improvements were made to the station ahead of the July 2014 opening of Levi's Stadium, including adding an “event only” side platform south of the eastbound track. During normal operations, this platform is not used and gates prevent access. After the end of a game, the platform is opened and used for eastbound and southbound departures, while the normal island platform is used only for westbound departures. During very busy events, the new platform has multiple gates, and customers are asked to queue in different lines based on their destination to facilitate rapid loading of trains.[5]

A pocket track was also added between the Reamwood and Old Ironsides stations, enabling the storage of three, 3-car trains to mobilize trains quickly after the end of an event at Levi's Stadium.[6]

Despite the similar names, this station is not the recommended transfer point for the Santa Clara–Great America station used by Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) commuter rail and Capitol Corridor inter-city rail trains as the walk between the stations is about 35 mile (0.97 km). VTA advises passengers to use Lick Mill station, which is only 15 mile (0.32 km) away from the ACE/Capitol Corridor station.

  1. ^ "VTA Light Rail System". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. October 11, 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. ^ "ACE Shuttles" (PDF). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. July 2, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "VTA Light Rail System". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. October 11, 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  4. ^ "VTA Facts: Light Rail System" (PDF). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. November 30, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2009. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  5. ^ Transportation Management and Operations Plan For Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara (Report). City of Santa Clara, San Francisco 49ers. August 16, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "Light Rail Efficiency". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2020.