At its June 12 meeting, the Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority Board received the Project Feasibility Report for Valley Link, a rail service envisioned to connect San Joaquin Valley communities with the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station, including connections with the ACE rail system. Alameda County Supervisor and Regional Rail Authority Chair Scott Haggerty thanked those involved, noting that “This study is the result of hundreds of hours of work on the part of the Valley Link Board and staff and input from thousands of members of the public on both sides of the Altamont Pass. It represents another key milestone that was completed on time and keeps us on the path to making this essential project a reality.”
The enabling legislation that created the Rail Authority required that a project feasibility report be made available for public input on or before July 1, 2019. Councilmember Veronica Vargas of Tracy, who serves as the Vice Chair of the Regional Rail Authority, commented “The amount of feedback we have already received on the Valley Link project has been impressive, but there are still opportunities for the public to be heard by reviewing and commenting on this Feasibility Report.”
The report is available for public review at the agency’s website valleylinkrail.com.
The 840 page report contains a number of elements including: alignment options; an overview of stations and facilities; system integration with BART and ACE; service characteristics; proposed vehicle technology; projected capital and operating costs; a funding and financing plan; and a recommendation for project management and delivery. Public input on the document will be accepted through July 31, 2019.
Phase 1 of the proposed Valley Link rail service would connect the existing Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station to the proposed ACE North Lathrop Station. A second phase would extend service from the North Lathrop Station to the ACE and Amtrak Stockton Station.
Other proposed station locations in Phase 1 include: Isabel Station; Greenville ACE Intermodal Station; Mountain House Station; Downtown Tracy Station; and River Islands Station. The service is proposed to operate from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., with service every 12 minutes between the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station and Greenville Road during peak hours and every 24 minutes beyond Greenville to the North Lathrop Station. Trains would be scheduled to allow for convenient transfers to BART. Project construction is expected to take between five and seven years, meaning that the first Valley Link trains could be placed in service as early as 2024.
The Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority was created by the California Legislature in 2017 with the passage of Assembly Bill 758, co-authored by Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon and Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton. The authority’s primary purpose is to plan, develop and deliver cost-effective transit connectivity between the Bay Area Rapid Transit District’s (BART) rapid transit system and the Altamont Corridor Express’ (ACE) commuter rail service.
The Authority is governed by a Board of Directors appointed by its 15 member agencies, including: the Town of Danville, the cities of San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Tracy, Manteca, Lathrop and Stockton, the Mountain House Community Services District, the counties of Alameda and San Joaquin, the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA), the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE). Additional information on the Regional Rail Authority, including the agenda and staff reports is available at www.valleylinkrail.com.
Supervisor Bob Elliott represents San Joaquin County on the board.
