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A global gateway to the world’s top companies and talent, San Jose’s Silicon Valley location offers ease of entry to the U.S. and California. And as a key Pacific Rim city, San Jose also has ready access to the San Francisco Bay Area as well as to Santa Cruz’s surf community and Monterey Bay experiences. The City hosts an average of 6 million visitors and over 170,000 convention delegates per year.
Mineta San Jose International Airport
 In addition to San Jose’s central Northern California location, The Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), provides a strong sense of welcome to arrivals from around the world. Recently undergoing a $1.6 billion renovation, SJC is now the world’s most technologically advanced airport, with sleek, beautifully-designed LEED certified passenger terminals, state-of-the-art baggage handling and a shared-use IT backbone that provides efficient and flexible support to airlines. SJC proudly holds a top on-time performance record among U.S. airports. Playing a strong part in this is the City’s excellent weather, resulting in an average of 360 days a year without delays. New efficient security checkpoints, with state-of-the-art TSA technology, whisk passengers through in a matter of few minutes while providing stringent and detailed security screening.
Passenger comforts include large and airy ticketing lobbies, long curbs for easy drop off and pick up as well as flexible ticket counters that can adjust for new flights and carriers. New spacious waiting lounges with new plush seating offer great views of the airfield, and free Wi-Fi throughout the terminal areas. New seats in the waiting lounges also feature power outlets for passengers to plug in their laptops or mobile devices.
Complementing these creature comforts, the terminals are accented by cutting edge new media art programmed by the award-winning San Jose Public Art Program. These feature extensive large-scale public art installations, including permanent works: the six-story tall Hands, Space Observer (underwritten by Microsoft), eCloud (underwritten in part by Adobe), Constellations, and many more changing exhibits.
When it’s time for passenger refuel and recharging, SJC boasts all new shops and restaurants inside the terminals highlighted by regional bar and dining brands, including Gordon Biersch, Sonoma Chicken, Original Joe's, Chiaramonte’s Deli, Olson’s Cherries, Schurra’s Chocolates, Peet’s Coffee, Le Boulanger, The Brit, the Sharks Cage, and Hickelbee’s Books.
The renovation also included the construction of the most convenient Rental Car Center at any airport—directly adjacent to passenger arrivals. All rental car companies are located in one structure, powered by 1 megawatt solar array that generates least 20% of the building’s power. It’s the first airport rental car center in the nation to open strategically designed to reduce traffic, congestion, and emissions, and improve rental car operational efficiency.
QUICK FACT: SJC averages 360 commercial and 168 general aviation departures and landings daily with 17 carriers servicing 10.7 million passengers annually and welcoming approximately 29,000 passengers daily.
For more information, please visit www.sjc.org.
RAIL
 The San Jose Diridon Station is the transit hub of Silicon Valley, located at the western edge of Downtown San Jose, and two-miles from Mineta San Jose International Airport. The station currently serves Caltrain, a regional commuter railway, Amtrak Capitols, Amtrak Coast Starlight, Altamont Commuter Express (ACE), regional bus services, as well as local Valley Transit Authority (VTA) light rail and bus lines.
In the near future, the Diridon Station area will be transformed into a model 21st century transportation center that will include high speed rail, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to complement existing rail and bus service. This will connect San Jose’s technology and knowledge job centers with the rest of the California. With high-speed rail, travel time from San Francisco to Los Angeles will take 2 hours via the high-speed rail system. And travel between San Jose and San Francisco will take 30 minutes.
In San Jose, light rail, bus, ACE, Caltrain, Amtrak, and the future BART extension will all converge at the Diridon Station with an estimated 1,200 trains, buses and light rail arrivals and departures per day. This convergence is unique in the Western U.S. and will be on par with major transportation hubs in Asia, the Eastern U.S. and Europe.
QUICK FACT: San Jose’s Diridon Station was originally constructed in 1935 and was previously known as the Cahill Depot.
For rail travel information:
within the Silicon Valley, please visit www.vta.org
within the region, www.caltrain.com and www.amtrak.com |
Joe Hedges