Limited light-rail service to resume today

Partial runs on Orange, Green lines to start; rides free through Sept. 13

SAN JOSE >> Three months after a mass shooting shut down all VTA trains, limited light-rail service will resume this morning, just in time to take passengers to the 49ers-Raiders exhibition football game at Levi’s Stadium.

Trains will run every 30 minutes from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. along the Orange Line that runs from Mountain View to Alum Rock, including the Milpitas Bart Station and the Great America stop near Levi’s. The Green Line along First Street, from the Civic Center to Old Ironsides stations, will follow the same schedule today.

Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Until full operations are resumed, buses will continue to fill the gap, running every hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. along North First Street between Paseo de San Antonio and Baypointe.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority plans to expand service hours on Monday, the agency said.

“As we continue to bring back employees safely and compassionately, we will update the public on the level of light-rail service we can safely continue to provide,” the VTA said in a statement Saturday. “We appreciate the patience of our riding community.”

Service on the remaining segments of the Green and Blue lines will return in phases. Riding light rail will be free through Sept. 13.

VTA, which has been running buses along train routes, had originally intended to restart light-rail service in July.

The agency has been working with traumatized employees who fled two buildings at the main Guadalupe rail yard in San Jose the morning of May 26 when a disgruntled employee started a shooting rampage. Veteran mechanic Sam Cassidy, who had a long, documented history of runins and outbursts with management and employees, killed nine coworkers before killing himself as law enforcement arrived.

Investigations by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and an independent law firm hired by

VTA are conducting investigations into the shooting.

The transit agency has been focused on providing mental health counseling for its workers and moving administrative offices away from the rail hub that was a crime scene for weeks and could trigger post traumatic stress if workers were to return. Many employees resumed working at new locations early this month.

For the past week, VTA has been doing test runs with their rail operators and continuing safety inspections on trains, rails and equipment that have been dormant for months.

Beginning Monday — “and until further notice” — VTA will continue to operate the entire Orange Line, a partial segment of the Green Line and continue its “bus bridge” service that picks up where the trains leave off.

Here are the following expanded hours of operation beginning Monday:

• Orange Line from 5:30 a.m. to midnight, every 20 minutes until 8 p.m. at which time it will operate every 30 minutes.

• Green Line from Civic Center to Old Ironsides from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., every 20 minutes until 8 p.m. at which time it will operate every 30 minutes.

• Bus bridge along First Street from Paseo de San Antonio to Baypointe and onto Milpitas Transit Center/BART Station will operate every 30 minutes from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.