VTA Gives Control Of Milpitas, Berryessa Stations To BART
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- BART service to San Jose just got a big step closer. The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has just handed off control of the new tracks and stations at Milpitas and Berryessa to BART.
"This is a significant milestone," said Bernice Alaniz, a VTA spokesperson. "We've really now handed over the baton to BART for them to begin the final phase of testing."
Residents living near the BART tracks in Milpitas and San Jose will first begin seeing a few more trains coming down the tracks as BART tests power and communications.
"After that is training operators on the new system and actually replicate the future service," Alaniz said.
RELATED: New South Bay BART Station Transforms Neighborhood In San Jose
BART hopes to begin passenger service on the Milpitas and San Jose extensions in December. It can't come soon enough for Southbay BART riders, including one Warriors fan who
wishes he could have caught a train to the game from San Jose.
"I grew up here, 20 years ago. That was the rumor then. Here I am twenty years later, I come back to visit and go to a game and it's still not there. I'll believe it when I see it," said David Hafeman, who now lives in Maryland.
VTA says BART will take passengers from San Jose to Downtown San Francisco in about 65 minutes.
