SAN JOSE, Calif. — All Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail service has been restored as of today (April 3, 2025), marking the first time since March 9 the three-line, 42-mile, 60-station system has been fully operable.
The Green Line, between Old Ironsides in Santa Clara and Winchester in Campbell, was the last line restored, the VTA said in a statement. “We thank our passengers for their patience as we ensured the system is safe and able to run smoothly,” the agency said.
VTA operations were shut down on March 10 by a strike by 1,500 members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265. The strikers were ordered back to work by a court order on March 27, and bus service resumed the next day. But theft of copper wire during the shutdown pushed back the return of light rail operations [see “Wire theft to delay …,” Trains News Wire, March 28, 2025]. The first trains began running on Monday, March 31.
Negotiations have not resumed since the court order was issued. The San Jose Spotlight reports that the union filed an appeal to the back-to-work injunction on Tuesday, April 1, and that each side indicates the other is at fault for the lack of negotiations. A VTA spokeswoman told the news site, “we just haven’t heard from ATU;”Local 265 President Raj Singh said, after receiving three offers based on one already rejected by members, “There never was any urgency on their side before. Now it’s just obvious.”
