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BART and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announce downtown San Jose rail extension

Passengers can expect four new BART stations through downtown San Jose by 2030.
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Passengers can expect four new BART stations through downtown San Jose by 2030.

Last Friday, BART and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announced the construction plans that will add four new BART stations in the South Bay. The plans will connect two BART lines, one from Richmond and one from Daly City, to the Diridon rail depot.

This is big news for public transportation enthusiasts in the South Bay. BART and the VTA have laid plans to construct a six-mile, four-station extension through downtown San Jose.

BART, VTA and other South Bay officials completed the first phase of the South Bay extension in June 2020. This phase opened BART stations in northern San Jose's Berryessa neighborhood and Milpitas.

Currently, the Orange Richmond line and Green Daly City line reach as far south as the Berryessa/North San Jose Station. Both of these lines will be extended to reach three new underground stations– one at 28th Street in San Jose's Little Portugal, another near the intersection of Santa Clara and Market streets in downtown San Jose, yet another at the San Jose Diridon rail depot, and a fourth ground-level station near PayPal Park in Santa Clara.

Connecting BART to Diridon station will allow riders to transfer to Caltrain and Amtrak lines. Eventually, Diridon will also be a transfer point for the planned high-speed rail connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Passenger service through San Jose is expected by 2030. Based on the current timeline, the project will cost roughly $7 billion to complete.