Alder station

Alder station (formerly known as I-880/Milpitas) is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). This station is served by the Orange Line of the VTA light rail system.

Alder
Alder station platform
General information
Location	Tasman Drive and Alder Drive Milpitas, California
Coordinates	37°24′48″N 121°55′03″W
Owned by	Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	VTA Bus: 44[1] ACE Shuttle: Purple[2]
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	275 spaces[3]
Bicycle facilities	Racks and lockers[3]
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	May 17, 2001 (2001-05-17)[4]
Previous names	I-880/Milpitas
Services
Preceding station VTA light rail Following station Cisco Way toward Mountain View Orange Line Great Mall toward Alum Rock
Location

The station was opened on May 17, 2001, as part of VTA's Tasman East light rail extension.^[5]

The station has a 275 space park and ride lot situated diagonally opposite from the platform. The entrance to the parking lot has a large public art installation, a clocktower called "Gateway to the City of Milpitas."

History

Clocktower at the entrance to the station's park and ride lot

Alder originally served as the eastern terminus of the first phase of the Tasman East light rail extension on May 17, 2001, and so was originally served by trains operating directly from Mountain View.

When the station first opened, it served the southern terminus of AC Transit's 217 bus, the only such service that runs into Santa Clara County. Since then, the second phase of the Tasman East extension altered the station's service patterns, and the 217 bus now terminates at the Milpitas Transit Center.

Since 2017, VTA's plans for new routes in support of the Silicon Valley BART extension included renaming this station "Alder" after its cross-street Alder Drive.^[6][7] The station was renamed to Alder in 2021.^[8]

Service

Location

Alder station is located in the median of Tasman Drive just west of Alder Drive near Interstate 880 in Milpitas, California.