Prior to the Warm Springs extension, there was no public transportation link to BART south of Fremont and commuters had to travel to Fremont Station, where it was difficult to find parking. Warm Springs alleviates the parking problem with 2,082 parking spaces, and reduces traffic on the nearby I-680/I-880 interstate highways. An estimated 6,000-7,000 riders every weekday access the extension from Warm Springs/South Fremont station.
Although the extension and station were budgeted at $890 million, when the tunnel construction elements were bid the project stayed well below budget, while maintaining high quality, resulting in a savings of about $100 million below initial budget projections.
The station includes 42 solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations. Bike lockers and bike racks were also installed to ensure that the station is fully accessible by pedestrians and cyclists. It also provides a bus transit center to provide easy connections between the trains and Alameda-Contra Costa Transit (AC Transit) buses.
The $54 million intermodal transit hub covers 34 acres and includes more than 2,000 photovoltaic panels on the roof and in the parking lots that can generate 512 kilowatt hours of energy – enough to meet the station’s daytime power needs. an eight-acre wetland site for environmental mitigation offsets the impact of the project.
The station’s modern design includes elevators and escalators that improve access to the elevated platform. It features local artistic elements, including “Sky Cycles,” a colorful art glass display on the station’s curtain walls created by artist Catherine Widgery.
The extension design allows for the potential installation of a future platform station at Irvington, midway between Fremont Station and Warm Springs Station. Future plans also include extension of the rails farther south into San Jose and Santa Clara County.
