California: Hearing on Rail Improvement, Expansion Packs Room in Downtown Modesto

McClatchy, via Mass Transit Mag:



Residents and community leaders from as far as Santa Clara, Castro Valley, Fresno, Sacramento and even Mount Shasta filled the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place in downtown Modesto on Friday morning for a hearing on improving and expanding passenger rail service.

The informational hearing hosted by Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, focused on the Altamont Corridor Express, which runs from Stockton to the East Bay and Silicon Valley, and Amtrak's San Joaquin line, which skirts Modesto on its way from Bakersfield to Sacramento and the East Bay.

Amtrak recognizes that much of its service works only for leisure travelers and wants to attract business commuters with expanded schedules. ACE hopes to extend a line from Lathrop to Modesto by 2018 or '19 and to Merced as soon as 2022 or '23. Linking to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system is a longer-term goal and one that drew a lot of attention Friday.

Gray, who sits on the Assembly Select Committee on Rail, was joined for the hearing by Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Riverbank, and state Sens. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, and Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, showing bipartisan support to get funding to improve services. ..................(more)

http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/12106468/hearing-on-rail-improvement-expansion-packs-room-in-downtown-modesto