Federal grant aids rail career training program for Valley. Amtrak and ACE will expand soon
Young people training for railroad careers will benefit from a $2 million federal grant.
It was announced Thursday, Jan. 2, by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. It is one of the partners in The Rail Academy of Central California, also known as TRACC.
The 2-year-old program trains students to be locomotive engineers, conductors and related roles in passenger and freight services. It includes classes through Sacramento City College and hands-on experience at the Altamont Corridor Express Rail Maintenance Facility in Stockton.
ACE and Amtrak both are expanding dramatically thanks to nearly $2 billion from state and federal sources. Freight lines need workers of their own to replace retirees.
“As California continues to invest in rail, workforce development is essential to strengthen the future of both freight and passenger rail,” said David Lipari, the commission’s deputy director, in a news release.
The grant will go to instructor salaries and to supplies such as radios, safety flares, glasses, earplugs, hard hats, vests and boots.
The money came from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program at the Federal Railroad Administration. It is part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Amtrak now has five round trips a day between Bakersfield and Oakland and a sixth branching at Stockton to Lodi and Sacramento. It plans to reach six trains to Sacramento as early as 2030 and also add a sixth trip to the Bay Area.
ACE has four weekday round trips between Stockton and San Jose, mainly aimed at commuters to Bay Area jobs. The southern extension will have stations in or near the downtowns of Manteca, Ripon, Modesto, Ceres, Turlock, Livingston and Merced.
ACE’s northern branch will have stations west of Lodi, in northwest Elk Grove and at Sacramento City College, Midtown, Old North Sacramento and Natomas.
ACE will start out in late 2026 with a train between Ceres and San Jose, mainly for commuters. Five trips will follow in a few years to the Bay Area or Sacramento, some involving a transfer in north Lathrop. Some trips will be outside commute hours.
ACE and Amtrak will share tracks and stations in the corridor between Stockton and Sacramento. It is on a freight line west of the one now used by Amtrak’s current service.
ACE and Amtrak would tie in at Merced with the first leg of high-speed rail, to Bakersfield. The controversial project still needs several billion dollars for that segment and perhaps $100 billion more to reach Southern California and the Bay Area.
This story was originally published January 4, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
