Great America station

Great America
Great America
VTA light rail station
	A VTA train near Great America Station with Levi's Stadium under construction.
Location	2799 Tasman Drive; Santa Clara, California
Coordinates	37°24′13″N 121°58′28″W / 37.403523°N 121.974442°WCoordinates: 37°24′13″N 121°58′28″W / 37.403523°N 121.974442°W
Owned by	VTA
Platforms	1 island platform; 1 side platform
Connections	SMART: 177
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	December 11, 1987
Services
Location

Great America is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Great America is served by the Orange and Green light rail lines. Great America is named for the nearby California's Great America theme park and is the closest station to Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.

From the station platforms, the entrance to Levi's Stadium is a 0.2-mile (0.32 km) walk and the entrance to the Great America theme park is a 0.4-mile (0.64 km) walk.

Improvements were made to the station ahead of the July 2014 opening of Levi's Stadium, including adding an “event only” side platform south of the eastbound track. During normal operations, this platform is not used and gates prevent access. After the end of a game, the platform is opened and used for eastbound and southbound departures, while the normal island platforms is used only for westbound departures. During very busy events, the new platform has multiple gates, and customers are asked to queue in different lines based on their destination to facilitate rapid loading of trains.^[2]

A pocket track was also added between the Reamwood and Old Ironsides stations, enabling the storage of three, 3-car trains to mobilize trains quickly after the end of an event at Levi's Stadium.^[3]

Despite the similar names, this station is not the recommended transfer point for the Santa Clara – Great America station used by Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) commuter rail and Capitol Corridor inter-city rail trains as the walk between the stations is about 0.6 miles (0.97 km). VTA advises passengers to use Lick Mill station, which is only 0.2 miles (0.32 km) away.

Location[]

The station is located in the median of Tasman Drive between the Santa Clara Convention Center and California's Great America. It is also across the street from the San Francisco 49ers home, Levi's Stadium.

Station layout[]

Platform	Westbound/ Northbound	← Orange Line toward Mountain View (Old Ironsides) ← Green Line toward Old Ironsides (terminus)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Eastbound/ Southbound	→ Orange Line toward Alum Rock (Lick Mill) → → Green Line toward Winchester (Lick Mill) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right (only used during special events)

Station amenities[]

Fully wheelchair-accessible (level boarding)
Pay Phone

Connecting transit[]

Altamont Corridor Express offers an employer shuttle to this area from the nearby Santa Clara – Great America Station.

References[]

^ "VTA Facts: Light Rail System" (PDF). Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. November 30, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2009. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
^ Transportation Management and Operations Plan For Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (Report). City of Santa Clara, San Francisco 49ers. August 16, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
^ "Light Rail Efficiency". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2020.