Ohloe/Chynoweth is the transfer point between the main Santa Teresa-Alum Rock Line and the shuttle train to Almaden served by a single LRV. It is also the transfer point and terminus of bus route 13 that duplicates the Alamden Shuttle but continues much farther south down Almaden Expressway south. Most riders stay on the bus the final 2 miles before transferring, not transferring to the shuttle train to transfer again. The station has a poor design for a transfer station/terminus of a train with two tracks and two side platforms. This requires passengers transferring from Almaden to trains heading to downtown San Jose and north needing to walk across one of the two pedestrian crossings at each end of the platform to board their connecting Alum Rock-Santa Teresa Line train. Shuttle trains relay and change direction on the same through track used by Santa Teresa-bound trains.
It seems that the Almaden Shuttle wasn't originally designed to be a shuttle. Although the line is largely single tracked, service runs every 15 minutes using 1 LRV due to the short travel time. Under certain service studies for the BART to Silicon Valley Extension, the Almaden Line was proposed to become the terminus of trains to Mountain View (with Winchester trains terminating in the downtown transit loop), but under the approved service plan, instead Winchester trains will continue to head north to Old Ironside under. Almaden Shuttle, renamed the purple line will continue to run as it does today. A new Orange line will run from Mountain View to Alum Rock, with the now 5 line VTA light rail map continuing to be a map where no lines need to cross each other anywhere.
The station's two side platforms for the two-track line run between two pedestrian crossings at each end of the platform with a fence between the tracks. The San Jose-bound platform has two, while the Almaden/Santa Teresa platform has one canopy structure with tiled supports for waiting passengers. Each platform has it's own park & ride lot with no easy automobile connection between them. The stop has a total of 549 spaces located on both side of the tracks.
The San Jose-bound platform contains one of the station's two bus loops, directly along the rail platform. This loop is used by Express Bus Route 102. Two different parking lots stretch under ramps connecting the end of the Guadalupe Freeway (CA-87) with the Valley Freeway (CA-85). All vehicular access to this entrance is from the first traffic light and intersection on Santa Teresa Blvd that becomes the road for the Guadalupe Freeway for traffic continuing south.
The Santa Teresa/Almaden platform contains a small oddly angled parking lot. This is accessed from Turner Way and Pearl Avenue, followed by another 4 bay bus loop (used by bus Route 13 to terminate) that is able to fit into the street grid better, running from Chynoweth Avenue to Terner Way. Another small park & ride lot is west of here, between Terner Way and Chynoweth Avenue, although only buses can access the station directly from Chynoweth Avenue, with motorists needing to drive down the local streets of the Ohlone/Chynoweth Commons and some other apartment complexes around the station.
All Photos: 20 February, 2012
Branham
