City of San José Requests Proposals to Develop Innovative Transit Connection Between Airport and Train Station

Connection between Mineta San José International Airport and Diridon Station would seamlessly join the city’s main transportation hubs

SAN JOSE, CA – The City of San José Department of Transportation has released a request for proposals (RFP) to develop a grade-separated transit solution to connect Mineta San José International Airport with Diridon Station near the city’s downtown. The City will select up to two proposers to enter into a pre-development agreement with the City. After an intensive focus on the viability and value of each of the proposers’ efforts, one proposer will be selected to provide the transit technology, develop a business model including securing private funding, and design a dedicated transit system that avoids street-level crossings.

"Linking what will become the busiest transportation hub on the West Coast, Diridon Station, with our city's gateway to the world, San José Mineta International Airport, has long been an elusive goal,” said San José Mayor Sam Liccardo. “With this promising next step, we're showing residents that we are committed to delivering on this crucial connection and fulfilling the promise of Measure A, passed many years ago. I am excited to see the ingenuity brought forward through this process and how we can leverage the finest talent and solutions to make the Airport Connector a reality."

“This is a very exciting project that will innovate on several fronts,” said John Ristow, Director of Transportation for the City of San José. “We’re asking companies to really push the envelope on technology, within a public-private partnership that helps us leverage the talents and resources of the private sector. The result should be a model project for the city and a great user experience for the passenger.”

“As Silicon Valley’s Airport, we welcome the technology and innovation that this project has the potential to bring to our region,” said John Aitken, Director of Aviation at Mineta San José International Airport. “As a hub for new airline technology, we see this transit-based connection to our terminals as yet another measure for upgrading our passengers’ experience. This is a tremendous opportunity to support the development of new travel technology, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have this highly sought amenity on the horizon.”

This is the latest milestone in a project that previously released a request for information (RFI) in 2019. That request asked firms to discuss potential solutions that could provide “mass transit infrastructure and operations at significantly lower cost than traditional transit projects.” The RFI received 23 responses that discussed a broad range of innovative approaches including personal rapid transit, mixed-flow autonomous vehicles, Hyperloop, monorails, and magnetic levitation vehicles. Firms do not need to have previously submitted a response to the RFI to be eligible to respond to the RFP.

View the request for proposals at https://portal.biddingo.com/landingpage/sanjose/bid/1/41205949/37037428/verification

Learn more about the Airport-Diridon Connector Project.