Valley Link: Project could markedly improve air quality in northern San Joaquin Valley

Eastbound Western Pacific Railroad train moves eastward on Southern Pacific track through the Altamont Pass in 1982

Interstate 580 between Castro Valley and the Altamont Pass can look like a parking lot at times. Much of the thoroughfare’s traffic is comprised of commuters traveling to San Francisco Bay Area-based destinations from points in the San Joaquin Valley. There is more or less a stub of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system that branches off the main line (known as the Blue Line) in the East Bay Area around Castro Valley that runs in I-580’s median that extends more or less to the I-680/I-580 interchange in the town of Dublin. There is a BART station there which is known as the BART Dublin-Pleasanton station.

BART apparently isn’t interested in extending rapid transit service a few miles farther east to Livermore.

So the plan is to build a passenger rail link connecting BART’s Dublin-Pleasanton station with the San Joaquin Valley town of Mountain House located some 22 miles away. Future phases have the train extending to Lathrop and Stockton in the northern end of the San Joaquin Valley. The project in question is known as Valley Link.

The first several miles between the BART Dublin-Pleasanton station and the Southfront Road station will be built as well in the I-580 median. Meanwhile, construction east of there calls for combined use of portions of the original right-of-way of the first transcontinental railroad through the Altamont Pass to be used in addition to rail line being laid on all new right-of-way.

Construction is expected to start in 2025. The operation, at least to Mountain House, is expected to hit the ground running by 2035. Four initial stations are to be served. West-to-East these are: Dublin-Pleasanton, Isabel, Southfront Road and Mountain House Community.

It’s a truly visionary project and laudable in the sense that the rail link has the potential of removing a significant amount of I-580 weekday commuter traffic. Which, in turn, will help clean the air along the affected portion of the I-580 corridor in the area. Couple this with the operation of hydrogen fuel-cell trains, and emissions reduction should be even more pronounced. It’s also laudable in the sense that it will replace the need for building in additional highway capacity. This is typically done in California by adding lanes. This is known alternatively as highway expansion.

As it relates, in a May 2, 2023 Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority news release,[1] there is this: “The 22-mile initial operating phase of the Valley Link rail project between the Dublin/Pleasanton Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in Alameda County and a new Mountain House Community station in San Joaquin County, including two additional stations in the City of Livermore, will connect tens of thousands of Northern San Joaquin Valley workers to the Tri-Valley at the center of the Northern California Megaregion – one of the fastest growing and economically significant areas in the state of California – with all-day, bi-directional service at frequent intervals using zero-emission rail vehicles.”

It was also noted by the TVSJVRRA in the same release that: “The Valley Link rail project is being implemented as a megaregional partnership by a 15-member Board of Directors representing the counties of Alameda and San Joaquin along with the communities of Danville, Dublin, Lathrop, Livermore, Manteca, Mountain House, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Stockton and Tracy. The project has widespread support from all sectors of the Northern California Megaregion, is identified in all countywide and regional transportation plans and has over one third of its funding already identified as available through local sources – a total of over $800 million, including $400 million of Alameda County Measure BB transportation sales tax funds.”

Building onto an already solid passenger-rail-service platform in California

Passenger trains in California continue to hold their own. Besides state-supported Amtrak “California” services (the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner and the San Joaquin services), the Golden State offers a whole host of passenger-train services. Offered is everything from the Altamont Corridor Express in both the northern San Joaquin Valley and the south Bay Area to the San Diego Trolley located in and around the San Diego region.

As to the former, operations began in 1998. ACE service will be extended to both the Sacramento and Merced areas. The added service is dubbed Valley Rail.

At Merced, meanwhile, Valley Rail is to articulate with both Amtrak and the future statewide high-speed-rail train and interchange is to be enabled via the station cross-platform transfer. At least, that’s the way I understand it.

On track

There is so much happening passenger-rail-development-wise in the Golden State. Where passenger rail is being implemented where no such service previously existed, as it relates, wiser heads have definitely prevailed.

Notes

1. “State Awards $25 Million to Valley Link to Advance Project Development,” May 2, 2023 Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority news release.

In an earlier version the interstate highway interchange referred to in the Dublin-Pleasanton (California) area was misidentified as being the I-580/I-280 interchange. The so-referenced interchange information in question has since been revised and is now correct. Also caption date information was incorrect.

Updated: Sept. 22, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. PDT.

Above and corresponding, connected home-page-featured images: Roger Puta

— Alan Kandel

Copyrighted material.