Valley Link Feasibility Report approved by Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority Board

The Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority Board approved the Project Feasibility Report for Valley Link, a rail service envisioned to conveniently connect San Joaquin Valley communities and Livermore with the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station, including connections with the ACE rail system on Oct. 9. 

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. On June 12, the Rail Authority Board received the report and opened the public comment period, which concluded on July 31.

Alameda County Supervisor and Regional Rail Authority Chair Scott Haggerty said, “The fact that we received 144 public comments on the feasibility report shows the level of public interest in this vital project. All of the comments received were thoughtfully considered and resulted in a number of modifications from the initial plan to the Final Feasibility Report that the Board adopted today.”  

Among the changes included in the final Valley Link Project Feasibility Report:

1. Adjusting the project schedule due to updated information on timing of funding sources;

2. Updating the funding plan to include additional contingencies; and

3. Updating ridership estimates.

Councilmember Veronica Vargas of Tracy, who serves as the vice chair of the Regional Rail Authority, commented, “The Rail Authority’s adoption of this Feasibility Report is yet another important milestone towards implementation of the Valley Link project. The commute over the Altamont is one of the worst in the United States and this rail line will give another alternative to the 87,000 commuters who make that trip daily.”

The final feasibility report can be seen on the agency’s website valleylinkrail.com.

Phase 1 of the proposed Valley Link rail service would cover 41 miles connecting the existing Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station to the proposed ACE North Lathrop Station using hybrid train technology. 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. Initial service is proposed to operate from 5 am to 8 pm, 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. The first Valley Link trains could be placed in service as early as 2027.