Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service is moving farther down the line to Turlock.

The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission has been awarded $57 million by the State of California to extend ACE service from Ceres to Turlock.

Funding from the Senate Bill 1 deal in 2017 to increase the state gas tax including money to extend ACE service from Ceres to Sacramento is already in place with at least one train added to go from Ceres to San Jose.

That service will be up and running in 2023.

Ultimately, ACE will be extended to Merced to connect with the California High Speed Rail system.

A segment of the high speed from Bakersfield to Merced could be up and running by the end of the decade.

The latest funding means ACE service will reach Turlock several or so years ahead of 2030, possibly within a few years of trains staring to serve Ceres.

Initially,  three trains will depart Ceres Monday through Friday.

All three will make stops in Modesto, Ripon and downtown Manteca.

Two trains will continue north to Lathrop-Manteca, Stockton, Elk Grove, Sacramento, and Natomas north of the American River ending several miles from Sacramento International Airport.

One train will head toward San Jose with stops at Lathrop-Manteca, Tracy, Vasco Road, Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont, Great America, Santa Clara and then San Jose.

Additional trains are planned after the service is established.

The state funding — plus future requests that likely will be approved — will get ACE service to Merced ahead of high speed rail.

The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) that is providing the $57 million was created by Senate Bill (SB) 862 to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to fund transformative capital improvements that will modernize California’s intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems, and bus and ferry transit systems, to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, vehicle miles traveled, and congestion.

The Valley Rail authority is also working to upgrade Amtrak San Joaquins service.

In addition, the Valley Link project connecting a new Lathrop  station that will serve as a major transfer point to the BART station in Pleasanton-Dublin is targeted to be up and running by late 2028.

That means you could board a train in Manteca, Ripon or Lathrop and either travel directly to San Jose or Sacramento as well as transfer to other rail services to reach San Francisco and other points in the Bay Area.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, e-mail dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com