Airport Connections

Connecting to the San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose International Airports

San Francisco International Airport

You can get to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) by taking the Capitol Corridor train and transferring to BART at either the Richmond Intermodal Station (walk to the adjacent BART platform) or the Oakland Coliseum Station (proceed to the pedestrian bridge connecting to the Coliseum/Oakland Airport BART station). From Richmond, you’ll board a Millbrae or Fremont BART train and transfer to an SFO-bound train at the MacArthur BART station. From the Oakland Coliseum Station, you board a Daly City train and transfer to an SFO-bound train at the Balboa Park station. Visit bart.gov for details and schedules.

Oakland International Airport

Take the Capitol Corridor train directly to the Oakland Coliseum Station and proceed to the pedestrian bridge that leads to the Coliseum BART station. From the BART station, you will need to pass through the BART fare gates (with a BART ticket – purchased either on the Capitol Corridor train or at the BART station) and proceed up two levels to board BART’s airport service, “BART to OAK,” which provides an easy, eight-minute connection via automated people movers to Oakland International Airport. Visit bart.gov/guide/airport for details and schedules. You can also transfer to AC Transit’s Bus #73 at the street level to the airport by using a Transit Transfer from the conductor on board the Capitol Corridor.

San Jose International Airport

Take Capitol Corridor to the Santa Clara-University Station and ride the free VTA #10 Airport Flyer to the terminals. Visit vta.org for more details and schedules.

Buy a Discount BART Ticket in the Cafe Car

You can buy a discount BART ticket needed for travel to SFO and the Oakland Airport on board the Capitol Corridor train in the Cafe Car; it costs $8 for a ticket with $10 of value, and each Capitol Corridor passenger is limited to purchasing one BART ticket. You’ll need to make sure that this value is sufficient for your trip and plan accordingly:

– For Oakland Airport, the flat, one-way fare for the “BART to OAK” connector is $6, which means your $10 value ticket will be sufficient for the one-way trip, with $4 left over to use in the future or to go towards your return BART fare. To pay for the return trip, you have two options: 1) On your return — after you have taken the connector from the airport and gone down the stairs to the regular BART station area — add $2 of value to your original BART ticket at an Add Value Machine by the BART fare gates before you go through. You will not be able to pass these fare gates and proceed to the Capitol Corridor Station unless your BART ticket has $6 of value on it. 2) If you lose your original BART ticket, you can buy a new return ticket for $6 at one of the Ticket Vending Machines found on the “BART to OAK” connector platform immediately after getting off the people mover. You must use this ticket to go through these fare gates and then again through the fare gates at the regular BART station area one level down. Unlike SFO, there are no Ticket Vending Machines at the Oakland Airport before getting on the connector.

– For SFO, the one-way BART fare between Richmond and SFO is $10.15, which means you will need to add $.15 to your BART ticket once you arrive at the SFO BART station. You can do this at one of the Add Value Machines before exiting the fare gates. To cover your return trip as well, you can add a total of $10.30 ($.15 for the first trip + $10.15 to cover your return trip.) If you only want to add the $.15 to cover the first trip, you’ll need to purchase a BART ticket for $10.15 at the SFO BART station when you return. (Discounted BART tickets for Capitol Corridor passengers are not available anywhere but on the train.) If you’re connecting to SFO from the Coliseum station, the one-way BART fare is $9.70, which means that your $10 value ticket is sufficient for a one-way trip. For your return trip, you can buy a BART ticket for $9.70 at the SFO BART station on your way home.