Light Rail Enhancement Project Committees January 2015

Presentation Outline 2017 Operating Plan Long T Southern Express Other Potential Operating Changes System Speed Improvements: Study and Design North First Street Speed Improvements Montague Grade Separation Downtown San Jose Speed Improvements Vasona Corridor Improvements Chynoweth Siding Today’s presentation will cover both operating plan for 2017 and capital projects for system speed improvements.

Recommended Operating Plan – 2010 Study Recommended operating plan – main points of this operating plan Expanded Southern Express Service Direct service from the BART connection at Montague to the job Centers along tasman west (Champion, Old Ironsides, Lockheed, Levis Stadium, etc.) Express service to Skip Low ridership stations along Tasman West line All station would now have direct service to downtown San Jose (Almaden Line previously did not) Disconnecting Mountain View Line from Winchester Line should improve service reliability Vasona Line riders would lose direct trip to destinations north of Downtown San Jose, but should get a more reliable between Downtown San Jose and Winchester Status: Currently under evaluation along with other service proposals

Tasman Express (Long T) New Service from Mountain View to Alum Rock Connects with BART Milpitas Station Express between Mountain View and Old Ironsides in peak Requires double tracking Mountain View and pocket track near Great America Current The operations changes include the Tasman Exp. and the Southern Express. Tasman Express, aka the Long T, is a new direct service from MV to AR. The original recommendation is to open this service when BART phase 1 opens in late 2017. Proposed

Southern Express Current Proposed All-Day Express Service: Santa Teresa to Alum Rock Local service from Almaden to Mountain View Winchester Line loops through downtown and turns back Current Proposed The Southern Express, aka Guadalupe Express, includes an express service from ST to AR, local service from Almaden to MV, and the Wincherster line turning back in DT. In October 2010 we implemented the commuter express, which is a modified version. Non-stop Service

Ridership Projections and Cost Estimates Long T Service 2015 2018 (BART Phase I) 2035 (BART Phase II) Average Daily Ridership Increase TBD 4,000 6,700 Additional annual operating hours (% increase from existing) 31,000 hours (21%) Capital Cost Required $60M (Mountain View Double Tracking and Santa Clara Pocket Track) Southern Express 2015 2018 (BART Phase I) 2035 (BART Phase II) Average Daily Ridership Increase TBD 2,500 4,700 Additional annual operating hours (% increase from existing) 29,000 hours (20%) Capital Cost Required $0 ($10M Chynoweth Siding is an optional project)

Other Operating Concepts Service Frequency changes (same service pattern) Current Operations: 15 minute frequencies Potential Changes: 12 minute frequencies 10 minute frequencies Expand Existing Express Service Current Operations: Three Northbound and three southbound trips a day Potential Changes: Add more daily express trips Skip stop operations on North First Street Southern Express Alternatives Current Plan: All day express service between Ohlone-Chynoweth and Convention Center, Direct Almaden Service through Downtown San Jose, Vasona Downtown Turnback Potential Changes: Express service stops at Tamien then continues Express Almaden Trains No Express Service, All trains make all stops Winchester Trains to Younger Winchester Trains to Baypointe Skip stop operations on North First Street “Long T” Alternatives Current Plan: Peak Period – Express from Mountain View to Old Ironsides (stop at Lockheed) all stop east of Old Ironsides to Alum Rock Off-peak – All stop Old Ironsides to Alum Rock Potential Changes: Different stops on express service No express service All day service express service Short turn non-Long T line These are some ideas. Next step is to test them to evaluate the benefits and costs. The goal to optimize a service plan that can deliver the greatest benefits in 2017.

Near Term Focus: Its All About Speed VTA has established "increasing ridership" as one of its top five 2014 priorities Land use density continues to intensify along the light rail corridors VTA is becoming an urban light rail system where demand will increase along with traffic congestion levels along the light rail corridor In the future light rail will play a greater role in meeting the changing needs of Santa Clara Valley The system needs more flexibility to respond to different ridership demands Timing is a critical component when it comes the the potential success of capital improvements Compared to the 2010 Study, the near term focus is more “focused” – speed. Among many improvements we would like to see, speed is probably the most effective factor in attracting ridership.

Light Rail System Constraints Future Transit Connections Existing Transit Connections Merge Points At-grade Intersections Single Track Segments Downtown Transit Mall

System Speed Improvements Draft List of Improvements – Pending VTA Budget Approval Project Station consolidation study 2017 Operating Plan LRT Transit Signal Priority LRT Speed Improvements North First Street Speed Improvements Montague Grade separation Downtown San Jose Speed Improvements Siding at Chynoweth Vasona Corridor Improvements LRT Signage Replacement See additional handout. Planning Work Only Existing Capital Projects New Capital Projects

Intersections on North First Street North First Street Speed Improvements Current maximum speed – 35 mph Maximum Speed after improvements – 45 mph Improvements include fencing and gates at select intersections Required by CPUC General Order 143-B Tasman Station and merge point VTA will conduct an intersection-by-intersection analysis Intersections on North First Street Example of Gated and Fenced Light Rail Intersection Expo Line Los Angeles

Montague Grade Separation 32% of all trains delayed Average Delay of 44 seconds High automobile traffic volumes Delay (Sec/Veh) PM LOS Existing 94.4 F 2040 215.7 N. 1st Montague N. 1st and Montague Montague Grade Separation Example: Great Mall Parkway and Montague

Downtown San Jose – Phase 1 Downtown San Jose Transit Mall Maximum Speed 10mph (slowest system wide, see string chart below) Embedded track, hard to distinguish from sidewalk Multiple intersections and junctions Phase 1 – Near term improvements Phase 2 – Will coincide with BART to Silicon Valley Phase II Downtown San Jose

Downtown San Jose Bollards or curbs can be used to create separation between tracks and sidewalk Also looking at using new technology applications Bollard Examples Edmonton and Minnesota Curb Alternatives Phoenix

Vasona Corridor Vasona Corridor Improvements Vasona Corridor has two single tracked segments which contribute to delays systemwide VTA tracks are adjacent to Freight Rail tracks throughout corridor Platforms only allow for two-car trains (rest of the system can accommodate three-car trains) Vasona Double Track Freight Rail Tracks VTA Tracks

Chynoweth Siding Chynoweth Siding Would construct a siding at the Ohlone/Chynoweth Station (exact configuration TBD) Would allow for greater flexibility with express/local operation in the future VTA and Public owned ROW Chynoweth Siding Existing Track Potential Track Construction