MODESTO, Calif. — Modesto and neighboring communities have begun station preparations for the launch of Altamont Corridor Express commuter service in their area, which could come as early as 2021.
Manteca, Ripon, Modesto, and Ceres will be served by the first phase of construction a southern branch of ACE service extending from Stockton; that branch will eventually reach Merced, serving three more stations.
The Modesto Bee reports that the ACE station in Modesto will be the depot built by the Southern Pacific, now part of the Modesto Transportation Center built in 1993 for area bus service. It will receive a $5 million renovation including interior remodeling, new heating and air conditioning, new restrooms, and fresh paint.
Ceres and Manteca will build new platforms, with Manteca’s at the city’s Transit Center. Ripon plans a station at the east end of its downtown.
I believe ACE’s agreement with UP calls for double tracking the line. The funding was included in Gov. Brown’s 2017 gas tax increase.
Agree with Troy. The UP Central Valley corridor can get pretty busy, at least as I have seen between Bakersfield and Modesto. It will definitely take some jockeying to get many commuter trains into the mix, especially since most of the line is single track. The commuter folks may end up paying for a few more sidings along the way. Looking at Ripon, it may be wiser to put that station in Salida to the south a few miles, as there is a little more space along the right-of-way there and quite a bit of housing going in on the north side of Modesto right there as well. I wish the cities good luck, because they are going to need it.
Any expansion of this network is good to hear about, unfortunately because of the nature of the service on existing freight rail lines the travel times will be slow and the frequency will be low but beggars can’t be choosers.