ACE will restore 4th train from north Valley to Bay Area. Update on Amtrak to capital
The Altamont Corridor Express will add a fourth round trip Sept. 7, restoring the weekday commuter service to its prepandemic level.
The new westbound train will depart Stockton at 7:32 a.m. and reach San Jose at 9:44 a.m. The return trip will leave San Jose at 6:38 p.m. and pull into Stockton at 8:50 p.m.
ACE has stations at the Lathrop/Manteca border and in Tracy, Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont, Santa Clara and San Jose. It has full funding to expand into Stanislaus and Sacramento counties by 2023 and to Merced by 2025.
COVID-19 brought a sharp decline in ridership for rail systems in spring 2020, including Amtrak trains running through Modesto to Bakersfield, Oakland and Sacramento.
Down to 2 trains last year
ACE cut its service to two weekday round trips in March 2020. The third was restored in May of this year.
The trains mainly serve commuters to jobs in the Livermore area and Silicon Valley, sparing them the often congested Interstates 205 and 580. The earliest leaves Stockton at 4:10 a.m.
A bus from Modesto takes Stanislaus County residents to and from the Lathrop/Manteca station, with stops at the downtown Transportation Center and Vintage Faire Mall.
The pandemic took one of Amtrak’s five daily round trips between Bakersfield and Oakland by way of Modesto, Denair and 12 other stations. It was restored June 28.
Amtrak also suspended the two trains between Bakersfield and Sacramento, forcing passengers to transfer to buses at Stockton. One direct train could return in mid-October, said an email Tuesday from Marketing Manager David Lipari.
ACE and Amtrak are expanding
Both ACE and the Amtrak service are expanding thanks to $900.5 million in state grants funded by fuel taxes on drivers.
ACE’s southern branch will have stations in the downtowns of Manteca, Ripon, Modesto and Ceres by 2023. A northern branch will serve the Lodi, Elk Grove and Sacramento areas around the same time. The southern branch will reach stations in Turlock, Livingston or Atwater, and Merced by 2025.
Amtrak will add two Sacramento trips using the same new stations as ACE from Stockton north. The corridor is generally west of the current Amtrak tracks, which will remain in service.
ACE and Amtrak will feed passengers into the first planned segment of the state’s high-speed rail system, planned between Merced and Bakersfield.
Much of that segment is under construction, with a goal of service by 2029. But the project faces continued scrutiny from critics who would rather see the initial service in the Bay Area and Southern California.
