Current Project Status: EIR Completed/Final Design 

The Lathrop to Ceres Extension extends ACE service to Ceres/Merced. The Lathrop to Ceres Extension has already completed the environmental documentation phase. Click here to view the Final Environment Impact Report for the ACE Lathrop to Ceres Extension Project. Click here to view the appendices. The ACE Lathrop to Ceres Extension Project is in the final engineering phase. To view all the documents regarding the Lathrop-Ceres Extension click here.

Current Project Status: EIR Completed/Final Design

The Sacramento Extension extends ACE service from Stockton to Natomas and includes additional San Joaquins service. The Sacramento Extension does not follow the current San Joaquins rail alignment but provides new ACE and San Joaquins service on a new rail alignment closer to Interstate 5. Click here to view the Final Environment Impact Report for the Sacramento Extension Project. The Sacramento Extension Project is in the final design phase.

As a part of the Valley Rail Program and to enhance commuter and intercity rail service and to promote greater transit connectivity between the Sacramento region, the San Joaquin Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area, SJRRC and SJJPA are jointly proposing to implement the “Valley Rail Sacramento Extension Project” which proposes new and increased ACE and San Joaquins passenger rail service with five new stations between Stockton and Sacramento.

SJRRC, acting as lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), has prepared the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Valley Rail Sacramento Extension Project. The Final EIR addresses comments submitted to SJRRC during public review of the Draft EIR (March 30, 2020 through June 5, 2020). Individual comments and responses are included in Appendix I of the Final EIR.

During review of the Draft EIR, SJRRC received numerous comments concerning the viability of the proposed North Elk Grove Station and the proposed Natomas Maintenance Facility. Therefore, these potential project improvements are no longer under consideration for implementation.

On October 2, 2020, the Final EIR for the Valley Rail Sacramento Extension was approved and adopted by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. Next step for the Sacramento Extension will be detailed design followed by construction starting in 2025.

Current Project Status: EIR

A separate environmental review process is being done for the potential Elk Grove Station.  On December 1,  2021, SJRRC released an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Elk Grove Station.  The Final EIR can be downloaded here.  The appendices can be downloaded here. For more information about the Elk Grove Station Project, Click here.

Current Project Status: Environmental Completed/Final Design

In addition to the projects in the Valley Rail Program associated with new service north and south of Stockton, $26 million in funding was also provided to relocate the San Joaquins Madera Station. In May 2019, the SJJPA Board approved a contract for the Madera Station Relocation Project, and the environmental phase began in Fall 2019. The project will evaluate project alternatives to construct a new station at Avenue 12 and will be designed to accommodate  future high-speed rail. For more information about the Madera Station Relocation Project click here.

Current Project Status: Final Design and Right of Way

Today, the tracks of two major railroads intersect at-grade in the City of Stockton at what is called the Stockton Diamond. This rail intersection, located just south of Downtown Stockton near Aurora Street South and East Scotts Avenue, is the busiest, most congested rail bottleneck in California. The Stockton Diamond Grade Separation Project will grade separate the two railroads to provide continuous flow of traffic in each direction. Click here to view the Final Environment Impact Report and the Final Environmental Assessment for the Stockton Diamond Grade Separation Project. The Project is currently in the final design and right of way phase. Key milestone updates are summarized below:

• Construction is scheduled for 2025.
• Negotiations with owners over purchase of property continues with right of way scheduled for certification in December 2023.
• Detailed plan and design review is ongoing with the City of Stockton, Union Pacific Railroad (UP), and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF).
• The project received supplementary funding in 2023.
• Utility relocations are tentatively scheduled to begin in August 2023.

For more information on the Stockton Diamond Grade Separation Project, click here

Current Project Status: Final EIR

The ACE Ceres-Merced Extension Project is being environmentally cleared. On Thursday, May 28, 2020, SJRRC released a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an EIR for the ACE Ceres-Merced Extension Project. The Final EIR can be downloaded here. The project webpage can be viewed here.

Current Project Status: Environmental Completed/Final Design

The new Oakley Station will complement the significant work that the city of Oakley has been performing over the past several years to revitalize its downtown. The Valley Rail Program provides the funding the design and construction of the platform, while the city of Oakley will fund and construct the parking facilities. The project was environmentally cleared in June 2018. The project is slated to begin final design in the summer of 2020, with construction slated for 2025. 

View the Fact Sheet.

The North Valley Rail project would extend the Valley Rail project, which has been environmentally cleared for service to Natomas, north to Chico.  Proposed stops include Plumas Lake, Marysville/Yuba City, Gridley, and Chico.  A strategic plan for this project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.  For more information, please visit the full North Valley Rail website here: North Valley Rail

In anticipation of new ACE service from Modesto by 2026, SJRRC is partnering with the City of Modesto and developers to implement downtown Modesto infrastructure improvements and transit-oriented development in the vicinity of the Modesto Transit Center. The Modesto Transit Center is the hub for public transportation in Modesto and Stanislaus County and is being expanded to accommodate the future ACE service from Modesto.  In addition to potential benefits from minimizing land consumption needs for new growth, increased dense development near the Modesto Transit Center concentrates activity in the heart of downtown Modesto.  The increased activity promoted by supportive land uses also benefits the use of ACE, generating additional ridership and promoting connectivity throughout the Northern California Megaregion.  A dense development pattern can better support a comprehensive and extensive local transit and shuttle system, bicycle and pedestrian paths, and related amenities that can serve the local communities and helps meet local, regional, and statewide sustainability goals.

SJRRC’s current efforts include supporting the City’s recently completed “Modesto Transit Center Safety and Beautification Project”, partnering with two new affordable housing projects in downtown Modesto, and assisting the City secure funding for safety improvements for at-grade road crossings along the Union Pacific tracks in downtown needed to enable the City to deploy a quiet zone in the area around the Modesto Transit Center.  SJRRC is also expecting to partner with the City on a Sustainable Transportation grant application in early 2024 to work with developers and the community to create an action plan to attract additional transit-oriented development around the Modesto Transit Center and the City Center area.

For more information regarding SJRRC’s efforts to help improve downtown Modesto please see the links below:

Modesto Transit Center Safety and Beautification Project

Affordable Housing Partnerships:

• Seventh Street Village Project
• Archway Commons II

The ACE Rail system, managed by SJRRC, and San Joaquins system, managed by SJJPA, will be designed and implemented to ensure that all passengers with disabilities can access the train cars. There are regulations that must be followed for new or altered stations, FRA/FTA requires that the boarding platform height would be the same as the car door height, OR the rail agency may request approval for an alternate method that serves as an“Equivalent Facilitation.” SJRRC and SJJPA are proposing to meet the performance standard through alternative boarding methods and equivalent facilitation.

View Fact Sheet 
View Final Accessibility Compliance with USDOT Level Boarding Regulation

The South Stockton Yard Crossover (SSYC) project that is being developed in partnership with the San Joaquin Region Rail Commission (SJRRC) and Union Pacific (UP) is designed to allow for faster and more efficient transfers between the Rail 111 and the Fresno line. Currently, to make this transfer, trains have to pull onto the Oakland line first and then go back to make the cross, impacting a dozen trains each day. The SSYC project will alleviate this challenge with the construction of a crossover near Charter Way around the UP rail yard and realize a time savings of 20 and 45 minutes for local trains and those coming from the main track, respectively, in addition to helping to mitigate train congestion caused by the current transfer process. Funding for the program, approximately $7.7 million for construction and construction support was awarded by the Port Freight Infrastructure Program (PFIP).

In September 2023, a site walk for track geometry was conducted. Future milestones include 30% track design, 90% track design, and 100% track design which will be completed approximately six months prior to construction, which is anticipated to begin June 30, 2025.

A nearby project that will garner a lot of attention and provide an opportunity to highlight the important work being done with the South Stockton Yard Crossover is the Stockton Diamond Grade Separation. Through independent projects, both aim at achieving greater efficiency and time savings in and around the area of Stockton. For more information on the Stockton Diamond project, visit: https://stocktondiamond.com/.