In less than three years, if so desired, anyone in Manteca’s original pre-1960 neighborhoods can walk less than a mile and board a train for San Jose or Sacramento.
And if everything goes according to plan seven years from now they could get onboard an Altamont Corridor Express train at the Manteca Transit Center, take a short ride to a new North Lathrop ACE station, transfer to Valley Link to reach Pleasanton-Dublin and take Bay Area Rapid Transit all the way to San Francisco.
It’s all because of two things: The deal that raised the gas tax by 12 cents in 2017 and an infusion of more than $500 million in Bay Area transit dollars.
The gas tax hike deal set aside funds to extend ACE service Ceres to Natomas north of Sacramento by the end of 2023. Valley Link secured its foundation funding from Bay Area communities eager to address freeway congestion and provide transit linkage to affordable housing on the fringe of the Greater Bay Area for its growing workforce.
The rail system as it matures is expected to eventually facilitate reverse commutes that may encourage Bay Area firms to relocate or expand office jobs and such into the de facto “outer burbs” of San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco that are located in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
But before then and after commuter rail service is well-established, the expectation is the train service will allow residents of the Northern San Joaquin Valley and beyond to access Bay Area/Sacramento professional sporting events, concerts, festivals, and other entertainment without having to use a car.
It could all be done by tying trains into more robust local transit such as buses or even light rail in places such as San Jose and Sacramento.
To say Manteca, Lathrop, Tracy, Stockton, and Ripon being at the heart of a rail system that ties Amtrak innercity trains, ACE, and Valley Link together will be transformative is a severe understatement.
The creation of such a system is literally coming down the tracks. It is not a fantasy.
At the same time there is a solid chance the new North Lathrop station on the former Sharpe Depot property that will make the ACE-Valley Link transfer possible could also have a third train system connected to it as well — California High Speed Rail.
It would be high speed rail per se but rather a potential hybrid step that could get Los Angeles to San Francisco service up and running after the Merced-Bakersfield phase is done.
The reason is simple. There is going to be pressure to get trains on the high speed rail system rolling in the next 10 years. Crossing beneath Pacheco Pass through the notorious San Andreas Fault is going to be daunting and significantly more expensive than originally envisioned.
This is where ACE Forward comes into play. In a nutshell ACE Forward would tie high speed rail into the ACE system by extending the existing commuter service south to Merced. It also involves straightening out the tracks over the Altamont Pass to eliminate a large swath where the top speed is 20 to 25 mph to allow trains to move at 100 mph or more.
ACE Forward would get the statewide network between major cities up and running sooner while the Pacheco Pass to the San Francisco route moves forward at an even slower and significantly more expensive pace than the current high speed work.
ACE trains connecting with high speed rail in such a manner obviously can ill-afford time-wise to stop at planned ACE stations in Turlock, Ceres, Ripon and Manteca and existing stations on the way to San Jose to connect with CalTrain to reach San Francisco.
That said a stop in North Lathrop where the move thru the Lathrop Wye takes place to head to San Jose would be more feasible given trains need to slowdown already. There is also 800,000 plus people within a 30-mile radius.
Even without the possible addition of a temporary hybrid high speed service, the passenger trains on the way will reverberate through the regional economy.
ACE and Valley Link are less stressful, less costly, and less polluting umbilical cords connecting the workforce that needs less expensive housing and high paying Bay Area jobs.
And given they are designed as commuter train systems that will only serve to bolster the growth rate.
In a world where no one rarely stays at a company 10 years let alone 30 plus years, hybrid work arrangements split between office and homes, and covering distances to get to work that would have required an all-day trip one way 120 years ago are the norm extended and expanded ACE service and Valley Link will only increase the appeal of living in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
What brought innercity passenger service to Manteca in 1912 on the Tidewater Southern spur north of French Camp using interurban electric cars was a desire to access shopping, entertainment, and medical care in Stockton and Modesto. It was also used to transport players and fans to baseball games in other communities up and down the Tidewater line that ran as far south as Turlock.
And for those seeking to continue their education past the eighth grade it allowed them to travel to and from Stockton High.
Travel by auto at time was slow and dusty on poorly maintained roads.
At its peak the Tidewater was running 24 trains that covered the 33.1 mile length of the system with 36 stations — most of which were flag stops — in 65 minutes or so.
The number of daily trains had dropped to eight by 1932 as the automobile was firmly entrenched thanks to a paved highway system that was more than a decade old.
The last Tidewater interurban passenger train ran on May 26, 1932.
Three years from now the Tidewater will again be part of a regional passenger train system although in an extremely small way.
Passengers will walk over ground where the Tidewater tracks once were to reach the ACE passenger platform that will be located to the south of the transit station on Moffat Boulevard.
This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
