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Local leaders looking to help alleviate residents’ daunting commute through the Tri-Valley are eyeing a new public transit option for the years ahead: a light rail system that links the burgeoning northern San Joaquin Valley over the Altamont Pass to BART in Pleasanton.
The board of directors of the new joint powers authority charged with connecting BART to ACE Train voted unanimously last week to select its preferred project alternative, a “multiple unit” light rail service between the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station and the North Lathrop ACE station, featuring two initial stops in Livermore and in key cities on the other side of the hill.
The decision sets the stage for a feasibility study and an environmental review due to be completed by next spring, with the goal of having new “Valley Link” trains in service as early as 2024.
Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty, who chairs the Tri-Valley/San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority board, called the July 25 decision “a very important milestone that will keep us on a trajectory toward groundbreaking.”
“I want to thank each and every member of our authority board and their staffs for their commitment to delivering a project that is fast, cost-effective and responsive to the goals and objectives of the communities it will serve,” added Haggerty, whose supervisorial district includes Livermore and Dublin.
Born from the BART Board of Directors’ efforts — or lack thereof — to extend BART service to Livermore, the regional rail authority’s concept centers on multiple-unit trains that utilize self-propelled cars with a hybrid engine.
The estimated $1.8 billion system would aim to schedule its trains to allow for convenient transfers to BART via a same-level station connecting the proposed Valley Link Isabel Avenue station in Livermore to the eastern Dublin-Pleasanton BART station in the Interstate 580 median.
The light-rail concept would also effectively shut the door on a conventional BART rail extension into Livermore, something supported by Tri-Valley elected leaders but opposed by the BART board majority.
“Of course, I would have preferred to see BART extend its service to at least Isabel if not Greenville Road. However, given the decision of the BART board, I believe this (light rail) is the best alternative,” said Pleasanton Mayor Jerry Thorne, who represents the city on the authority board.
“This alternative can be completed faster, at a much lower cost and under local control. The lower cost includes a large reduction in the need to acquire land for right-of-way requirements in Pleasanton,” Thorne added.
Local oversight was a key goal of the rail authority, which was created under state legislation by Assemblywomen Catharine Baker (R-Dublin) and Susan Eggman (D-Stockton) to put pressure on BART to either choose a Livermore extension responsive to the region’s needs or cede the decision to the new joint authority overseen by officials from Tri-Valley and west San Joaquin cities, both counties, and BART and ACE.
The BART board voted May 24 to bow out of the BART to Livermore extension decision-making after being unable to reach consensus among board members on a preferred project alternative (conventional BART, light rail or express bus).
When the new fiscal year began July 1 without a BART-selected option in place, the decision shifted to the regional rail authority — whose sole task is finding an effective way to connect BART to ACE.
The authority board met July 25 in Tracy and selected its preferred alternative: a new light rail network over the Altamont Pass connecting the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station to the North Lathrop ACE station, with stops at Isabel and Greenville (ACE) in Livermore, Mountain House, downtown Tracy and River Islands.
The project would leave the door open for possible in-fill stations at South Front (Livermore), Grant Line Road and Ellis Historical (Tracy). There’s also a proposed second phase extending the Valley Link to the Amtrak Stockton Station.
The service is proposed to operate from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., with service every 12 minutes between the Dublin-Pleasanton BART Station and Greenville Road in Livermore during peak hours and every 24 minutes beyond Greenville to the North Lathrop Station.
On the Tri-Valley end, time estimates compare the 20 minutes on Valley Link from Greenville to Dublin-Pleasanton with 20-40 minutes drive time for that same distance.
The rail line would use primarily Alameda County right-of-way to the county line in the I-580 median, the former Southern Pacific Railroad corridor over the Altamont Pass and in or near the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way in San Joaquin Valley.
The authority estimates construction and design costs for Phase 1 at $1.8 billion, helped in part by easier access to public right-of-way and other established infrastructure. Valley Link would have $65 million in estimated annual operating and maintenance costs.
Officials would hope to leverage $400 million already committed to BART to Livermore from Measure BB Alameda County transportation sales tax revenue with potential federal, state and regional funding.
The authority has set an aggressive nine-month schedule to complete the feasibility study and environmental analysis in order to track the project for formal approval by next July.
“Although this schedule is going to be challenging, it speaks to the importance of getting this project delivered as soon as possible for our constituents,” said Tracy Mayor Pro Tem Veronica Vargas, who serves as the authority’s vice chair.
Final project design and construction would follow, with construction itself expected to take between five and seven years, meaning Valley Link trains could be in service as early as 2024 — if there are no delays and full funding is found.
Thorne pointed out that the board’s preferred alternative could evolve over the course of public review and environmental impact report (EIR) analysis, and there will be plenty of time for residents to provide their input on the project concept in the months ahead.
“I should emphasize that the selection of the preferred alternative only allows us to move on to the EIR process, which will compare other alternatives to the preferred alternative along with some planning. Therefore, changes in the final project design are possible and in my experience quite probable,” he said.
