Valley Rail Project Receives Major Grant Funding Today by State – Will Fund Series of New Stations and Track Improvements to Increase Connectivity and Frequency of Passenger Rail Service to Sacramento

April 26, 2018, Sacramento, CA – Today
the California State Transportation Agency announced a series of grant awards
under the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), and selected the
Valley Rail Project as a major awardee providing $500,500,000 to fund a series
of new stations and track improvements to increase connectivity and frequency
of service to the Sacramento region. The Valley Rail Project is a joint
proposal by the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority and the San Joaquin Regional
Rail Commission to dramatically improve passenger rail service to the
Sacramento region with both Amtrak San Joaquins and Altamont Corridor Express
(ACE) service.

The Valley Rail
project will implement a new transportation vision for serving the Sacramento
region with integrated intercity and commuter rail service. The grant funds
will help perform track improvements on the existing Union Pacific Railroad
Sacramento subdivision freight corridor that runs just east of Interstate 5 to
make it usable for passenger service, and build new shared San Joaquins and ACE
stations in Lodi, Elk Grove,
Sacramento City College, Sacramento Midtown, Old North Sacramento, and Natomas
which will include a shuttle connection to the Sacramento International Airport.

“The Sacramento community is very excited about this project,” said
Sacramento Vice Mayor Steve Hansen. “Right now we have train tracks that run
through midtown without providing any benefit to the local area. By building a
new station in midtown we will now tap into that existing infrastructure,
bringing customers to our local businesses, giving business travelers access to
the Capitol without clogging up our roads, and providing new easy access for
our local residents to reach key parts of the Bay Area or destinations
throughout the Central Valley.”

“This TIRCP grant will revolutionize the way that the SJRRC can grow by adding new service that would now include Sacramento for ACE and adding additional trains for the Amtrak San Joaquins. The State of California recognizes the important part the SJRRC plays in connecting

the Central
Valley, Bay Area, and State Capital, and we are grateful for their support,”
says Steve Dresser, Chair, San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission

Additional new
stations will also be constructed along the ACE and San Joaquins routes as a
result of this award: on the San Joaquins line, new stations will be built in
Madera and Oakley; on the ACE route, new stations will be built in Ceres,
Modesto, Ripon, Manteca, and North Lathrop.

The TIRCP grant
program receives significant funding from SB 1, the state’s gas tax program
that provides critical resources to improve California’s highways and local
streets, bridges, and transit systems – providing broad benefits to every
community in California.

“This project
would not be possible without SB 1,” said Vito Chiesa, Chair of the San Joaquin
Joint Powers Authority and Stanislaus County Supervisor. “With this funding, we
will be able to move quickly in implementing an incredibly important
transportation project that will better connect communities, improve mobility,
reduce congestion, improve air quality, and support a good quality of life.”

The Valley Rail
project is a transformational, megaregional initiative. Valley rail results in
the initiation of San Jose bound commuter service from Sacramento using
existing commuter rail equipment (expected by 2020). Four trains from Ceres are
included in the proposal, with three heading up to Sacramento (with a transfer
to San Jose in Lathrop) and one direct route to San Jose by no later than 2023.
Feeder electric bus service will connect to Ceres from Merced.

Valley Rail
also adds two new San Joaquins round-trips between Fresno and Sacramento, on
top of the two round-trips currently available. Total rail service between
Stockton and Sacramento will be nine round-trips across all available routes
and service providers, including one Sacramento to Stockton only round-trip.

The award also
includes funds for ACE to procure zero emission buses to support feeder service
between Merced and Ceres, and rolling stock for both corridors to support
service increase. The grant is coordinated with 2016 TIRCP investments that are
already being implemented in order to expand platforms to accommodate longer
10-car trains to add capacity on the four ACE round trips that currently cross
the Altamont Pass.

In addition,
Valley Rail funding will help convert the entire fleet including the thruway
bus network to renewable diesel fuel, providing greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits
across the entire existing (449 track miles) and proposed expanded (119 track
miles) San Joaquins and ACE services.

“Improved passenger rail is an integral part of Sacramento and the
Valley’s regional transportation network. It is essential to support travel and
economic growth in this interconnected economy, and connect communities in ways
that are convenient and sustainable,” said Chiesa.