San Antonio opened in April 1999 (after construction began in September 1998) to serve a new development and replace the Castro station that was then closed and located 0.8 miles east of this station at S Rengstorff & Crisanto Aves. The station has two side platforms along the line here that is two tracks with a fence down the middle. The platforms have red pavers that add color and contrast nicely with the yellow tactile warning strips. The furniture on the platforms is various bus shelters, two of these on each have a forth windscreen wall, another covers two TVMs on each platform. There is an extra one on the San Jose-bound platform. The bus shelters though aren't the normal black color but a much more inviting green with red roofs. Brown benches are scattered along both platforms. In the middle of each platform is the ADA blue bench with a newer less inviting black shelter around it, next to a mobile lift in its enclosure. Signage is minimal with a couple of red signs towards the southern end of each platform that say San Antonio on them between Caltrain logos.
The eastern end of these platforms is the highway like overpass above the tracks of San Antonio Road. The western end is the one legal pedestrian connection between them with a long ramp gradually leading down from the end of each platform to an underpass tunnel far away from the station, there is also a staircase by the tunnel but this doesn't help any riders going between the platforms. The tunnel itself is quite inviting with red portals at each end and a white and blue tiled interior. The San Jose-bound platform is along Showers Drive and across the street from it is the new transit oriented development with low-rise apartment buildings, beneath one of these is an underground parking garage with 200 VTA Park & Ride spaces. The San Francisco-bound platform is along non-pedestrian friendly Central Expressway with entrances at each end. The one at the northern end leads under the overpass of San Antonio Road arriving back at Central Expressway by some bike boxes.
All Photos taken on 12 June, 2013
California Ave