Due to track maintenance by Union Pacific Rail Road, Amtrak has made adjustments to their train schedule which conflicts with the time ACE 04 is en route from Great America to Fremont.  ACE 04 passengers can expect delays from 2 to 15 minutes at Great America and Fremont until the track maintenance is complete.  Track maintenance is expected to be complete by February 14th.  Please call 1-800-411-RAIL if you have any questions or leave your question in the comment section below. 

Congratulations to the Bay Area Commuter Appreciation Day Contest Winners! The Commuter Appreciation Day was sponsored by 98.1 Kiss FM and all commuters at the Great America station received a gift bag.  There was also a raffle contest for a February monthly pass.  The winners are below.

Stephen Grant

Alexandra Busse

Chanise Woodall

Uncle Andy's is now selling food and beverages at the Tracy ACE station for all morning trains.  Please be sure to stop by, grab some coffee and say hello to Uncle Andy.

Take a look below at the ACE Rail Locomotive Tour video.  Thanks to Steve Walker for putting this together!

ACE Rail Locomotive Tour from MEDIAPEEPS (formerly NSR Films) on Vimeo.

The Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre will raise the curtain on their next production Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” on Friday January 22nd, 2010 at the Bankhead Theatre in Livermore, conveniently located across the street from the Livermore ACE Station.  The show can be seen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various times through February 7th, 2010.  For tickets call (925) 373-6800 or visit www.livermoreperformingarts.org.

The next SJRRC board meeting is Friday January 8th and you can view the online broadcast by clicking here.  If you have any questions, please contact Thomas Reeves at thomas@acerail.com.

We have listened to your feedback

All train sets return to six cars by January 11!

Good Afternoon Passengers!  We are excited about the progress on the Cabral Station Neighborhood Revitalization project here at the Stockton ACE station, but we are always aware of the potential for associated challenges.  As most of our Stockton passengers know by now, the south end of the Cabral Station has been undergoing a massive facelift, which will eventually allow for better, more efficient accessible vehicle travel.  In order to complete the concrete work near the corner of the platform at the Weber Avenue entrance, construction crews will need to close access to this portion of the platform. 

During this time of renovation to that segment, Stockton passengers should access the platform via the safest route possible, which, at this point, is from the Aurora Street entrance.  Construction to this segment should last between 1/5/10 and 1/15/10.  Sorry for the disruption.

The Great Valley Center has ranked the Altamont Corridor Partnership Work Group number 5 of the Top 11 Good Things That Have Happened in 2009 In The Central Valley.  This group is working to improve transit between the Central Valley and the Bay Area, which includes improving the ACE service.  The group is working on scenarios to reduce travel time from Stockton to San Jose, increase service and potentially add a line to Modesto.  For more information visit www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov or see the November post on this blog about the Altamont Corridor Rail Project.

Please click on the calendar below to view the ACE Holiday Train schedule.  The train will not operate on November 27th, 28th, December 25th and January 1st.  ACE will operate on a modified schedule on December 24th and December 31st.  On the days of the modified schedule, only ACE 01 & 03 will operate in the morning and only ACE 04 & 06 will operate in the evening.

Last week the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) hosted the Altamont Commuter Express for equipment familiarization training for first responders in Tracy.  At the training, all Tracy city firefighters, DLA firefighters and DLA Police had the opportunity to receive detailed instructions and hands-on equipment familiarization with ACE train equipment.  Field representatives from the Transportation Security Administration Office of Rail Compliance and Union Pacific Police also participated.  A total of 112 first responders were trained.  This free training was offered to participants in the interest of safety so they know their way around the railroad and equipment in case of emergency.

Please click here for information to view the live broadcast of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission Board meeting on November 6th, 2009.  The meeting begins at 8am and if you have any questions please contact Thomas Reeves.