May 23—Rail planners have been working for a few years on a second passenger service through Altamont Pass.
Valley Link would be much more frequent than the Altamont Corridor Express, which has run between Stockton and San Jose since 1998.
The proposed system's first phase would stretch from the Dublin station for Bay Area Rapid Transit to Mountain House, west of Tracy.
The second phase would add one station in Tracy and two in Lathrop. The easternmost depot would have a transfer to ACE, which is expanding in a separate project to Sacramento, Stanislaus and Merced counties.
Valley Link has secured about a fifth of the estimated $3.8 billion in total funding and continues to seek grants. Meanwhile, the planners have rethought part of the route and are taking public comment on the change until June 6.
The initial route has three segments. One involves laying track in the Interstate 580 median between Dublin and Livermore. From there, Valley Link would use an abandoned freight corridor up the pass. The trains would then run on active freight tracks on their way to Mountain House and three stations to the east.
The revision involves the east slope of Altamont. Tracks are now planned next to 580 and less curvy than the freight route. This would allow speeds close to 80 miles per hour, about triple the initial plan. It also would put the Mountain House station closer to this fast-growing city.
The change requires redoing a portion of the environmental study completed in 2021. The public can comment at www.getvalleylinked.com. Completion of the final document, including responses to the concerns, would allow detailed engineering in 2025. The first trains could run in 2027 if construction funding is obtained.
About 100,000 drive Altamont daily
The planners hope to attract some of the 100,000 or so people who commute to the Bay Area each day from the Northern San Joaquin Valley. They tout Valley Link as a cheap, relaxing and climate-friendly alternative to driving.
Valley Link plans to launch with trains every 24 minutes from before dawn to around midnight. It eventually could be every 12 minutes, matching the BART timetable.
The first phase will cost an estimated $1.86 billion, but only $814 million is on hand. Federal, state and local sources could fill the gap. The second phase would be another $2 billion, none of it secured.
A Valley Link train heading east from Dublin would stop at Isabel Avenue and Southfront Road in north Livermore. The first phase would end at a station at Interstate 205 and Mountain House Parkway.
The second phase would add stations in downtown Tracy, the River Islands area of Lathrop, and north Lathrop. The completion date depends on funding.
Valley Link plans to run on hydrogen, avoiding the emissions from diesel. It is governed by a board of elected officials in cities and counties along the route.
ACE is expanding north and south
ACE has four weekday round trips, aimed at commuters to Bay Area jobs. The stations are in Stockton, at the Manteca/ Lathrop border, in south Tracy and in downtown Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont, Santa Clara and San Jose.
ACE has funding for one branch to Sacramento and another to Merced. The northern extension will have stations west of Lodi, in Elk Grove and at four Sacramento sites. The southern line will have stops in north Lathrop and in or near the downtowns of Manteca, Ripon, Modesto, Ceres, Turlock, Livingston and Merced. The timeline for the various stations is 2026 to 2030.
ACE is expanding as part of a $1.8 billion package that also includes the Amtrak San Joaquins line. The latter now has five daily round trips between Bakersfield and Oakland and a sixth branching to Sacramento. Total trips to the capital will reach six.
Both ACE and Amtrak would tie in at Merced with the state's first stretch of high-speed rail, to Bakersfield. That project still needs to secure several billion dollars amid controversy over cost overruns and delays.
This story was originally published May 23, 2024, 6:20 AM.
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