CA: Amtrak will double Stanislaus service in a few years. Latest grant helps trains run on time

An $18.7 million federal grant will aid Amtrak's upcoming expansion through Stanislaus County.

The money, announced Oct. 29, will go toward second tracks and boarding platforms at the Modesto and Denair stations. This will allow passenger and freight trains to pass each other without delays, said Edward Barrera, deputy division chief for public affairs at the California Department of Transportation.

The rest of the $35 million cost will come from Caltran's own funds. It subsidizes capital and operating expenses for the Amtrak San Joaquins service under an agreement with the national rail network.

The new funding adds to about $1.8 billion already on hand to expand Amtrak and the Altamont Corridor Express in the Central Valley and Bay Area. Early phases could be running by late 2026.

Amtrak has five daily round trips between Bakersfield and Oakland and a sixth branching at Stockton to Sacramento. The expansion will result in 12 trips total, six of them serving the capital.

Amtrak will tie in at Merced to the high-speed rail stretch to Bakersfield, if the state secures about $3 billion more for that controversial project.

Money came from $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill

The grant was among 122 totaling $2.4 billion from the Federal Railroad Administration for passenger and freight upgrades. The program is part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

"Each project advances a future where our supply chains are stronger, passenger rail more accessible, and freight movement safer and more efficient," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a news release.

Construction will start next summer on the Modesto and Denair upgrades, Barrera said by email.

The stations now have one platform each for passengers to board and disembark a train. The track is also used for freight by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

Barrera said the funding also will improve safety for drivers and pedestrians near the two stations. This will include crossing gates, signs and sidewalks. One crossing is on Parker Road in Modesto, which runs east from Briggsmore Avenue. The Denair work involves Zeering Road and Main Street, which cross the track on either side of the station.

ACE will expand north and south

ACE now has four weekday round trips between Stockton and San Jose, mainly serving commuters to Bay Area jobs. The southern extension will bring service to Manteca, Modesto and Ceres as soon as 2026 under the current timeline. Turlock would follow in 2029 and Livingston and Merced between 2030 and 2033. ACE also would connect with high-speed rail, with six daily trains.

ACE has funding as well for a northern branch to Sacramento on roughly the same timeline. It will have stops in or near Lodi and Elk Grove and at four capital locations. The new Amtrak trains will use the same tracks north of Stockton.

Previous funding will provide a second track in many Valley stretches that now have just one. This is a major part of the expansion cost.

Modesto's Amtrak station is on the east edge of town. Denair is a small town just east of the much larger Turlock.

The southern ACE branch will be in or near downtowns, using the Union Pacific Railroad. Ripon and north Lathrop are scheduled for stations in 2027.

Fuel tax on drivers helps fund rail

ACE and Amtrak are growing through a joint effort known as Valley Rail. Most of the funding is from drivers paying a state fuel tax enacted in 2018. Other federal and state sources have covered cost overruns and other needs.

Proponents said the result will be train travel that is affordable, convenient and climate-friendly. U.S. Sen Alex Padilla, D- Calif., welcomed the latest grants in his own news release.

"Modernizing and building out our rail networks will help lower our carbon emissions, create good-paying jobs, and keep commuters and goods moving across the state," he said.

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