Passenger Trains > CalTrain Question

In January I am flying into San Jose and flying out internationally of SFO. What stations are closest to the respective airports? And do both of these stations usually have cabs present, to transfer to the airport?

Thanks,

John

You don't need a taxi for the transfer at SFO. The Millbrae station serves the airport directly.

There should be cabs at SJC that can take you over to the Caltrain station. It's not that far of a ride. You can take Caltrain up to Milbrae, where you can transfer to BART into SFO. You don't say how long you have between flights, so I can't say how this will work timewise.

DaveE

DaveE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There should be cabs at SJC that can take you over
> to the Caltrain station. It's not that far of a
> ride. You can take Caltrain up to Milbrae, where
> you can transfer to BART into SFO. You don't say
> how long you have between flights, so I can't say
> how this will work timewise.
>
> DaveE


VTA's "Airport Flyer" bus also runs between SJ Mineta and Caltrain's Santa Clara station. It's free.

The Santa Clara station is closest to SJC. And take the Airport Flyer. It might take a bit longer than a cab (with all the road construction around SJC, probably not by much, though) and its free.

It you want a bit more of an adventure, rail-wise, you can take the Airport Flyer (VTA route 10) the other direction and go to the light rail, then take the light rail down to the San Jose Diridon CalTrain station. That will definitely be longer than the direct bus to Santa Clara, but you get a trip through downtown San Jose and a chance to see the main depot, which is beautifully restored.

Santa Clara Depot is also nicely restored and features an interlocking tower. That depot is one of the oldest standing in the west, dating from 1863, IIRC.

Z

Thanks to all for all the information. I will have more than six hours between flights, should be enough time.

John

Like they said, at SJC you get the free bus to Santa Clara-- it wanders around the parking lots for a while so it takes maybe 15 minutes to get there. Caltrain is proof-of-payment, so get your ticket at the machine before boarding; like all POP systems the tickets are perishable, so you can't get them ahead of time.

Weekday midday, trains run every half hour; it'll be just under an hour to Millbrae-- $5.50 I think. Then BART is something like $1.50 to the airport, runs every 15 minutes.

One other item: if you go out of San Jose Diridon on a weekday you can catch the "Baby Bullet" train. That one hits Millbrae in about 40 minutes, IIRC.

Only locals and semi-express stop at Santa Clara, so, as mentioned, about an hour to Millbrae.

Z