Almaden is the terminus of the almost entirely 2.2 mile long, single-track Almaden Branch that leaves the main Guadalupe Line at Ohlone/Chynoweth. It opened on the same day as the main line on April 25, 1991. The line has always been served by a single LRV running to and from Ohlone/Chynoweth. Ridership is extremely poor since the line duplicates bus route 13 that continues south down Almaden Expressway and terminates at Ohlone/Chynoweth and most riders simply stay on the bus the final 2 miles before transferring. During the 2003 to 2004 budget crises service on the branch was proposed to be cancelled but kept with other services cut. Had the service been canceled the line would have been the first federally funded rail based transit line to be discontinued. VTA has proposed a rerouting that would give Almaden riders a one-seat ride into downtown with trains continuing to Mountain View. A new line would serve the Winchester Branch with these trains terminating by looping downtown.
The station itself has an island platform with the tracks switching back into a single track just north of the station. The tracks end at bumper blocks at the southern end of the platform. This platform has two canopy structures each with tiled columns that have a trimline of Almaden written in white on a brown background. Passengers can leave the station beyond the bumper blocks or via a pedestrian crossing over only the west track. These are at each end of the station's single land for buses that has its own tiled, column canopy, beyond this is a 189 space parking lot. The stop is accessed by two driveways through a dense urban development, that are unnamed. It is one block north of Coleman Road and a block west of Winfield Blvd.
All Photos: 20 February, 2012
