Amtrak canceled one train to Sacramento. Modesto bus system will try to fill gap
Modesto’s bus system will add a round trip for commuters to Sacramento in the wake of Amtrak’s cancellation of a train aimed at that market.
The Modesto City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night for the service, expected to start Jan. 1, 2020. The lag time is needed for planning of stops in Stockton and Sacramento and other details, city spokesman Thomas Reeves said.
The Modesto Area Express bus will leave around 6 a.m. weekdays from the city’s park-and-ride lot near Vintage Faire Mall. Commuters and other riders will reach Sacramento near the start of the business day. The bus will return in the evening.
The fare for the Sacramento service will be $14 one way or $16 for a round trip. MAX also will sell seven-day passes for $50 or 31-day passes for $175. The fares for Stockton were not available Wednesday.
Amtrak’s Modesto station gets five round trips a day between Bakersfield and Oakland and two between Bakersfield and Sacramento, but they are not timed for commuters.
The service a year ago added a train from Fresno to Sacramento that reached the capital around 7:45 a.m. It will end as of May 20, because of low ridership.
Amtrak riders can also get to Sacramento by transferring to a Thruway bus in Stockton. The earliest arrival is 9:25 a.m. at the Capitol building and 9:40 a.m. at Sacramento’s main rail station.
MAX already has two routes for Modesto-area residents commuting out of the Northern San Joaquin Valley. One is to the Dublin/Pleasanton station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. The other is to the Altamont Corridor Express station on the border of Manteca and Lathrop.
ACE runs between Stockton and San Jose and has funding for expansions to Merced and Sacramento over the next several years. New stations could be ready as soon as 2021 in Ceres, Modesto, Ripon and downtown Manteca.
Amtrak leaders said the early train to Sacramento could return eventually thanks to track and other upgrades planned for the system.
This story was originally published May 8, 2019 at 5:31 PM.