[tuy]

Good Idea for a thread. We could change the name to Northern California Transportation Tidbits. The Central Valley and Sacramento both could be included.

August 26, 2006

Altamont Commuter Express train adds 4th daily run to weekday trips
Workers, families, shoppers to benefit, official says

By Sam Richards
Contra Costa Times

On Monday, Altamont Commuter Express will begin a fourth daily
weekday round-trip run between Stockton and San Jose.

It will give the Tri-Valley a late-morning westbound run and a
midday return to the east.

The new train will take the place of the daily Amtrak bus now
operating between Stockton and San Jose, just as a major widening
project on Interstate 205 in San Joaquin County gets under way. The
train, Caltrans officials say, should be substantially faster than
a bus negotiating construction delays on the freeway.

The new fourth train will leave Stockton on weekdays at 9:30 a.m.,
arriving in San Jose at 11:40 a.m.

The return trip would turn around only 25 minutes after arrival in
San Jose, ending up back in Stockton at 2:15 p.m., according to the
new schedule.

Some of the envisioned riders are day shoppers bound for Pleasanton
or San Jose; families bound for a day at the Great America amusement
park in Santa Clara; and workers at Tri-Valley or Silicon Valley
destinations.

David Bouchard, president and CEO of the Pleasanton Chamber of
Commerce, said he expects a number of people will take advantage
of the midday train to shop at Stoneridge Mall or in the downtown,
attend events at the Alameda County Fairgrounds and make connections
to shop in Dublin.

"Anytime you can provide transportation to a destination -- and I
consider Pleasanton a destination with everything we have here --
it should be a great opportunity," Bouchard said.

It is anticipated other riders will be those with Amtrak tickets,
using the midday ACE train as a link between the San Joaquin trains
in Stockton and Amtrak trains in San Jose.

Bill Bronte, Caltrans' Rail Division chief, said the 9:30 departure
can accommodate riders of a morning San Joaquin train from
Bakersfield.

The Amtrak bus, which has stops in the Tri-Valley, made its last
weekday run on Friday. Weekend runs will continue.

"With the construction coming up on I-205, and the bus having to
contend with that traffic, that could get real iffy," Bronte said.

Caltrans is providing money for this fourth train, said Brian
Schmidt, ACE's capital projects manager.

ACE now moves from 1,400 to 1,500 riders each way daily, Schmidt
said. There are no ridership projections for the new midday service,
he said. But if the experience of Los Angeles' Metrolink commuter
trains is any indication, the addition of a midday train will boost
rider numbers on the commute-time runs.

"More people rode the (Metrolink) train knowing they could go the
other way in the middle of the day if they had to," Schmidt
said. "There was a 'safety-valve' option."

Though ACE has had problems with freight trains of track owner Union
Pacific creating delays, Schmidt said the San Joaquin Regional Rail
Commission has been working with UP for several months on track-use
issues. He anticipates few delay problems with the new midday
service.

An adult round-trip ticket from Stockton to San Jose is $19.75,
a 20-ride ticket costs $153.75. An adult round-trip tickets from
Stockton to Pleasanton costs $12, a 20-ride pass is $96.