Air tram station An air tram station was a terminal for air tram s . Passengers , civilian and Starfleet , would embark and disembark from air trams at this station . One such station was located on a hilltop in San Francisco ' s Presidio . This station was located within Starfleet Headquarters . During the " V ' ger " crisis of the mid - 2270s , Rear Admiral James T . Kirk was a passenger on air tram 3 that traveled to San Francisco . He was heading to a meeting with Admiral Nogura in a bid to get the back . While at the air tram station , he met Commander Sonak , who was intended to serve as science officer on the forthcoming mission . Meanwhile , a Class F shuttlecraft was also at the station , preparing for departure . There were also several Federation ambassador s at the station . ( ) Background information . Before the design of the air tram station was finalized , an alternative idea for the facility ' s appearance was illustrated in a conceptual sketch . This concept artwork showed a station that looked similar to a subway station and was less dramatic than the enormous plaza that was constructed for . ( ) To depict the air tram station , a large live - action set was filmed in the studio . ( ) The set was built on Paramount Stages 12 and 14 . Together with the air tram ' s interior , the set for the air tram station cost US $ 240 , 000 . ( " " , p . 95 ) The footage of the air tram station was filmed in post - production , a month after principal photography on " The Motion Picture " had wrapped . ( " The Making of Star Trek : The Motion Picture " , p . 193 ) There were no stairs included in the set . Although the station featured an escalator , performers depicted using this were actually lifted by a forklift . ( ) The on - screen depiction of the air tram station additionally involved a matte painting , as background enhancement for the live - action sets , created by Matthew Yuricich . ( " The Making of Star Trek : The Motion Picture " , color inset ) This painting was in addition to model elements of the flying air tram and lighting effects . The air tram station ended up as the most complicated optical matte shot in " The Motion Picture " ( even considering the film ' s relatively complex - looking " [ [ V ' ger ] " ] sequences ) . " " That shot turned out to be a nightmare , " " [ [ Douglas Trumbull ] ] complained . " " It took us weeks to perfect it . " " ( ) Views of the air tram station were digitally altered by [ [ Foundation Imaging ] ] in , for the " [ [ Star Trek : The Motion Picture ( The Director ' s Edition ) ] ] " [ [ DVD ] ] release . Prior to the release of that production , an unused version of the facility ' s exterior was portrayed in test footage for the project , which [ [ Daren Dochterman ] ] created to exhibit the ways new footage could be added to the film . In the ultimately revised version of the station ' s interior , Dochterman altered a large wall on the facility ' s right - hand side ; he specifically replaced the wall ' s upper half with an additional platform , from which a [ [ Class F shuttlecraft ] ] could be seen taking off . ( ) [ [ de : Air - Tram - Bahnhof ] ] [ [ ja : エア ・ トラム ・ ステーション ] ] [ [ Category : Earth locations ] ]