College Park station (Caltrain) explained

College Park
Style:Caltrain
Address:780 Stockton Avenue
Borough:San Jose, California
Owned:Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB)
Line:PCJPB Peninsula Subdivision
Platform:2 island platforms
Tracks:5
Connections: VTA: [1]
Accessible:Partial, no wheelchair lift available
Status:Limited-service, weekday-only
Original:Southern Pacific
Passengers:108 per weekday[2]
Pass Year:2018
Pass Percent:31.7
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes

College Park station is a limited-service, weekday-only Caltrain station serving the College Park neighborhood and the Bellarmine College Preparatory school in San Jose, California.

Service

The station is served by four trains per weekday. In the morning, one northbound train from Gilroy and one local service southbound train from San Francisco serve the station. In the afternoon, one southbound train to Gilroy and one limited-stop northbound train to San Francisco stop at College Park. There is no weekend service.[3]

Due to the small size of the station platforms, only the three northern-most cars of each train open their doors to allow passengers to board and alight. The two southern cars (next to the locomotive) do not open.[4]

The station has a boarding assistance area so that train crews may offer help to passengers with disabilities. However, the station does not have a wheelchair lift, limiting the accessibility of the station.

History

Before Caltrain, College Park was a station on Southern Pacific's Peninsula Commute line, in fare zone 6 (brown).[5] It is mentioned in Jack London's 1903 novel The Call of the Wild as the location at which the stolen canine protagonist is fenced, beginning his journey away from civilization.[6] [7]

In August 2005, service was reduced from 12 daily trains to four.[8] The nearby students at Bellarmine College Preparatory who use the station have a history of protesting to protect it from removal.[9]

The platform is planned to be rebuilt to accommodate through-running California High-Speed Rail service.[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. June 13, 2022 . VTA System . October 12, 2022 . Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
  2. Web site: 2018 Annual Count Key Findings Report . Caltrain . 2018 . October 17, 2018 . May 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200520173552/http://www.caltrain.com/Assets/_Marketing/pdf/2018+Annual+Passenger+Counts.pdf . dead .
  3. Web site: Caltrain . September 12, 2022 . Schedule . October 12, 2022 . . en.
  4. Web site: College Park station information . October 12, 2022 . Caltrain . en.
  5. Web site: Southern Pacific Peninsula Time Tables. Southern Pacific Lines. April 1, 1978. https://web.archive.org/web/20070701131255/http://www.railsaroundthebay.net/history/commutes/schedules/index.html. July 1, 2007.
  6. News: Dunn. Geoffrey. The Call of the Valley . 17. March 15, 2014. Metro Silicon Valley. January 16, 2013. San Jose, California. When Buck was stolen from the 'Miller' ranch, London referenced 'the little flag railway station known as College Park,' a small train stop that, to this day, is located in the College Park neighborhood, just off the Alameda near Bellarmine Preparatory School..
  7. Book: London, Jack. Jack London. The Call of the Wild. 1903. Chapter I. Into the Primitive. No one saw him and Buck go off through the orchard on what Buck imagined was merely a stroll. And with the exception of a solitary man, no one saw them arrive at the little flag station known as College Park..
  8. Web site: 2014 Caltrain Annual Passenger Counts, Attachment 1 – Caltrain Service History. Caltrain. 2014. March 15, 2015. PDF. July 14, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714182922/http://www.caltrain.com/Assets/_MarketDevelopment/pdf/2014+Annual+Passenger+Count+Key+Findings.pdf. dead.
  9. News: Caltrain Cutbacks Would Take Hundreds of Bellarmine High Students Off Track. March 21, 2011. Gilroy, CA Patch. March 15, 2018. en-US.
  10. Web site: San Francisco to San Jose Project Section Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement Volume 1 Chapter 2 . July 2020 . . July 20, 2020.