The Bay Area Council Economic Institute’s Northern California Megaregion study identified Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) and Amtrak San Joaquins services as key to helping ease congestion in the San Joaquin Valley and Bay Area. The NorCal megaregion features 21 counties and 164 cities, and has over 12 million residents, almost one third of California’s population – encompassing the Bay Area, Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valley (San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced counties), and the Monterey Bay Area. The NorCal megaregion is one of the largest and fastest-growing in the United States, but the rapid speed and scale at which it is taking shape is creating “megaproblems” that highlight the urgent need for greater collaboration, investment and planning in the areas of housing, transportation, education and economic development, and goods movement, according to the new report the Bay Area Council Economic Institute released in late June.