Modesto’s delayed ACE rail service could get a jump start with temporary station

Modesto restored its 1915 downtown depot in anticipation of the Altamont Corridor Express. But the first trains might stop at a site that’s not so charming.

The planned passenger platform has been tricky to design because of utility lines in the freight corridor that ACE will share. Officials are thinking instead of building a temporary platform half a mile north at Needham Street, a mostly industrial zone.

That could help ACE meet its goal of a 2026 start of service to Stanislaus County. It has run on weekdays since 1998 between Stockton and San Jose, timed for commuters to Bay Area jobs. It has funding for several stations by 2030 on one branch to Merced and another to Sacramento.

The $1.8 billion in total funding also will expand the Amtrak San Joaquins line, increasing the trips to the capital.

The projects are overseen by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. Executive Director Stacey Mortensen talked about the temporary Modesto station at a Monday meeting of the Stanislaus Council of Governments.

“It would be very rudimentary,” she said. “It wouldn’t look like your grand station.”

StanCOG oversees road and transit funding in the county from federal, state and local sources.

Passengers would board under Needham overpass

The cost and timeline for the temporary depot are not yet known. It would be on the east side of the tracks and underneath the Needham bridge over Ninth Street.

The station would have a parking lot for cars and a means for people in wheelchairs to board a train. It also needs better drainage of water that often pools on the site.

The planners would need approval from the Union Pacific Railroad, which runs frequent freight trains in the corridor. A spokesperson for the Omaha-based company could not be reached for comment.

The ACE staff also suggested putting the temporary platform well south of the planned Ceres station. The drawback: It would be about eight miles from Modesto, the county’s largest city.

ACE now has stations in Stockton, at the Manteca/Lathrop border and in Tracy, Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont, Santa Clara and San Jose. Four trains run west near the start of each workday and return by evening.

The southern ACE branch got its first state funding in 2017, with a goal of reaching Ceres by 2023 and Merced by 2027. Other stations will be in or near the downtowns of Manteca, Ripon, Modesto, Turlock and Livingston.

The latest timeline is between 2026 and 2030 for the various stations. ACE officials said the delay is due in part to the complex approval process by Union Pacific. The project requires adding a second track on many stretches to reduce conflicts with freight trains.

Mortensen said the planners also had unexpected issues with relocating utilities in the rail corridor. These include a major gas line under the Modesto and Ceres stations and fiber-optic cables in Ceres. These are not present at the proposed temporary platform at Needham.

Temporary platform ‘makes a lot of sense’

Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa is on a committee trying to accelerate the ACE and Amtrak expansions. He said at the StanCOG meeting that he supports a temporary station.

“If you think in that lens, taking a service that may not be ideal but starting it early makes a lot of sense,” he said.

The Needham site already has the double track needed for the temporary platform. Riders waiting for a train would gaze upon a few auto repair shops and Crystal Creamery, a major dairy processor.

The downtown depot is on Ninth between I and K streets. It was built in the Mission Revival style by the Southern Pacific Railroad, now part of UP. Passenger service lasted until 1971.

The remodeling, completed about a year ago, also involved the nearby bus bays. They are the hub for the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority. Riders already can use the old depot’s waiting room and restrooms.

ACE could attract downtown housing

The permanent ACE station could spark multistory housing within walking distance if Modesto’s downtown master plan comes true. The district already has plenty of daytime office workers, along with restaurants and entertainment into later hours.

ACE will start with just one weekday round trip to San Jose, then rise to six by 2030. Some trips would go to Sacramento but have a transfer in Lathrop to the east-west line.

The Amtrak station for Modesto is on the east side of town. The service has five daily round trips between Bakersfield and Oakland and a sixth branching at Stockton to Sacramento. Another capital trip will return in October after an extended absence due to COVID-19.

The Amtrak expansion will mean a total of seven trains between the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento, some sharing stations with ACE’s northern branch. Both systems will tie in at Merced to the high-speed rail service planned to Bakersfield. It could start running between 2030 and 2033 if it secures several billion dollars amid controversy over cost overruns.