ACE: things are getting better

[@Thom-TRA]

It looks like the new stations & track reroute won't be happening after all. Instead, they are pursuing other plans. Sounds like I might have to make a follow-up video in the spring...

[@history_leisure]

That's a shame, but they should focus on the active segment after all- the 49'ers will still be a big driver for service even after Great America closes, although it would be a bit of a missed opportunity. However, building rail to a theme park sometimes doesn't work out (Brookline Station on the Norristown High Speed Line was originally a trolley park and Parque Warner in Madrid has an abandoned dedicated branch line bisecting its parking lot)

[@edwardmiessner6502]

​​@@history_leisure Once Great America closes that's a huge opportunity to spur a traditional small-town redevelopment of the park centered around a station just outside it. It's maddening that the rail agency didn't jump on this.

[@history_leisure]

@@edwardmiessner6502 the park will like be replaced by warehouses or offices since there’s already offices very close by. Besides, who wants to live right next to a sports stadium? Not many

[@JermaniBurroughs]

Will they Still have train run to Sacramento

[@TysonIke]

I think that Ace is a system that deserves more praise. They never have gotten significant funding until recently, but have managed to be effective despite that. Multiple projects such as possible Dumbarton Bridge rail and the Valley Link connection to BART could make this system great Imo.

[@william2william]

I wouldn't call it the worst but it does serve a specific market. The commute from the San Joaquin Valley (Modesto and Stockton) into the Bay area starts at 4 am and there is a 5 am traffic jam at I-5 and I-205 (Tracy). Many San Joaquin Valley commuters start work in the Bay Area at 6 am and go home at 3 pm in an attempt to avoid the worst of the rush hour traffic. The median home price in San Jose is $1,200,000 while in Modesto median home price is $500,000. That's why the ACE Train is what it is. But I am looking forward to Valley Rail linking Sacramento and Stockton to the Pleasanton BART station in the same way that eBART links Antioch to the Pittsburg BART station.

[@Thom-TRA]

The train connecting to Dublin/Pleasanton will be called Valley Link

[@Atyomommahouse-p2m]

Valley link will go to Tracy then eventually lathrop. Not Sacramento or Stockton. Nowhere remotely close. And valley link will literally never get built.

[@BCAmtrak1]

@@Thom-TRA I don’t think that valley rail is getting off the ground anytime soon, Tracy has two stations one that serves as the Greyhound and city bus station and the other serving the Ace train The one that serves the bus station is also the connection to the Dublin Bart train by way of a commuter bus

[@BCAmtrak1]

If and when they do decide to build this valley rail, they are talking about oohing the old Southern Pacific mainline that used to run over the hill to Livermore and connect with the BART line either at Dublin or Livermore, valley rail was supposed to be an extension of the ace service since Ace only runs in the morning and afternoon. Ace does not have the equipment at this moment to run trans like Caltrain or Amtrak capital or San Joaquin services.

[@BCAmtrak1]

I do not see Valley Rail running on the same track as the Ace train, it would look very similar to the E-BART concept between Pittsburg/Bay Point and Antioch running on standard gauge trackage 4 feet 8 1/2 inches and dispatched potentially by the same railroad that owns the trackage whoever owns it

[@AshmewStudios]

ACE actually ran Saturday service (two roundtrips) as a pilot program for a little bit prior to the pandemic, but unfortunately they have not resumed it yet. They did recently resume event service for events at Levi's Stadium. Hopefully Saturday service can also be resumed soon and other improvements are made.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Altamont comes from Alta Monte meaning "High mountain" in Spanish. The Altamont Pass was formerly called the Livermore Pass, named after Robert Livermore, who was originally born in England. It got this name during the California gold rush, though Livermore moved to what was then Mexico's Alta California in 1822 by deserting a ship in San Pedro in what's now Los Angeles. It got the name Livermore Pass after he has given a land grant to the former Rancho Las Positas in the area in 1839. This rancho included the present-day city of Livermore. After the railroad was built through the pass in 1869 by Chinese laborers, a town called Altamont was founded, and thus the pass was renamed after it. Today, unlike the city of Livermore, Altamont is pretty much uninhabited, and besides the rail corridor, the pass is home to a big wind farm. It was also the former home of the Altamont Speedway which lasted from 1966 to 2008. The speedway was where the MythBusters tested a myth that a car will have better fuel mileage with the air conditioner on and windows closed than it would with all of the windows down.

[@Thom-TRA]

We love names with literal meanings

[@jpg3702]

I'm curious, did they find that the myth was true?

[@Cupertinorail]

I used to work for VTA and never got to ride ACE even once. I wouldn't say it's the worst but the trains are pretty much clean, reliable and useful. The only thing I hate is the frequency.

[@MagioneUmbria]

I came looking for your video about the electrified Caltrain. Then I ran into this video. Nice work. Sixty years ago you could board a Southern Pacific passenger train in Modesto and ride it through the Altamont to Oakland. From there you could take a bus to San Francisco. If, in the next couple of years, I could ride a train from Modesto to San Jose then I would lose bladder control. Thanks for making my day.

[@porkfriedsloths]

EYYYY WE MADE IT MA! - A Tracy Resident. The ace trains on the inside are so nice! All 4 trains to and from the Bay Area are usually at capacity and I hope the connections to the other valley cities run more frequently. If this was faster, people would DEFINITELY use it more. They even have cars with bike racks and everything. With Valley Link also supposed to be in the future, I hope San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties can make it possible to get around using public transit a lot easier than it has for my entire life. And to think these cities are here because of the train (Tracy used to be one of the largest train hubs in the state)! But the Central Valley as a whole has TERRIBLE transit so having one of the worst trains fits lol. In the later half of the day, I wish ACE made more trips only between the central valley cities, since the longest part of the trip is over the Altamont and thru the east bay. Having trains from Mountain House to Stockton/Sacramento/Ceres after the bay area commute is done would, in my opinion, really make the valley more self reliant and make the central valley a lot less car dependent, as well as clear up the smog that sits in the valley. The pandemic showed how pretty the Central Valley is when there isn't a thick black haze trapped in it (although some is from burning, agriculture, fires etc. but we saw that cars contribute a lot to it and I've never seen clear days like I did then).

[@Thom-TRA]

Thanks for a local's perspective!

[@vanhagar3000]

Great work as usual. Northern California's rail future looks bright. Looking forward to you Coast Starlight video!

[@anthonywarrener1881]

Great review ! I did wonder how frequent the ACE was, and now I know ! I do hope the planned improvements go ahead. Best wishes.

[@PrimeTimeTravelers]

Looks like some good improvements! Always much needed to have good rail travel options!

[@R262SubwayCar1]

Im Glad to see ACE Can run more often, Northstar should also get Services improvement

[@Thom-TRA]

I think they recently expanded a little bit!

[@cambridgeh.lutece6658]

Great video covering ACE; I live just north of the line in Dublin, and the poor frequency has meant that it's never been appealing for those seeking to make a daytrip into San Jose with their service. It's true, things are going to get better. They now run special trains on the weekends to serve 49ers Games, and they run the full route to San Jose as opposed to terminating at Santa Clara. Before the pandemic, they used to run a train on Saturdays (which will hopefully be restored). ACE serves a niche market, and it's good to see that they're following the region wide trend of making transit more appealing to everyday people, as opposed to commuters. Thanks. (By the way, check out the Valley Links project!)

[@Thom-TRA]

I’m strongly considering making a follow up video with some more up to date info and some more context!

[@dianethulin1700]

Another thing that’s desirable about the Merced station is access to Yosemite National Park via public transportation

[@michaelb9629]

That looks like another cool train system. I’ve first heard of it when I’ve seen videos of the newest sc44 charger locomotives that I know of.

[@pumpkinbread7182]

A few of my coworkers take the 4am ACE train from Stockton and get to the office in Fremont by 730. I used to take the Capitol Corridor and meet them at the Fremont station to carpool the rest of the way to the office.

[@PopoySD]

I take this train to work. I live in Tracy and work in Fremont. The people taking that 4am train are commuters who work in San Jose. If their shifts start at 8am, they’d have to take that 4am train from Stockton to be in San Jose by 7:30 and make it to work 🙂. I do wish they have more trips instead of just the 4. The commute is very convenient as I580 on the Altamont pass is horrendous during rush hour traffic. It’s nice to be sitting comfortably in the ACE train while it coasts by all that traffic. What makes it inconvenient is the frequency and the delays it take giving way to freight trains since there are a good amount of single track sections. I am looking forward to all the improvements and hoping to see it in my lifetime 😂

[@Thom-TRA]

Wow, I can’t imagine commuting that long!

[@gbassman5341]

Can't wait for ACE to reach me here in Modesto!

[@guretsugu]

I have a real soft spot for ACE. I'll often take it from SJ to Stockton to visit family for the weekend. It's really satisfying gliding by the traffic on 680 during rush hour while I'm comfortably reading a book. I really wish they would offer weekend service, even if it's still very low frequency. It's still a much more direct route than taking Amtrak San Joaquins, then BART, then VTA to get back to San Jose on Sundays.

[@Thom-TRA]

I can’t wait to ride it someday

[@guretsugu]

@@Thom-TRA When you do, I suggest doing it during the daylight to appreciate the views through Niles Canyon and Altamont Pass. It's truly a beautiful route! The slow speed bothers me much less when I think of it as a scenic journey.

[@clowns212]

Was looking forward to, and sad to see you leaving the area without an evaluation of the region's "newest" railway (restoration of service ended in the 1950s?). It's not connected to any other passenger rail. From SF, you have to take a ferry...It's called SMART, and runs Nippon Shayro DMUs between Larkspur (Marin County) and Santa Rosa (Sonoma) with construction pending northward to Windsor and Healdsburg. They are the same rolling stock as the Toronto Pearson Express. Nice views and comfy seats...transit oriented development moving at a leisurely California pace. Guess you'll have to swing back some time

[@Thom-TRA]

There’s only so much you can do in 48 hours

[@clowns212]

@@Thom-TRA well, you'll have to come back some day. Enjoying watching your videos. you seem like good kids. guess you could ride Ace too. It's interesting finally seeing these things actually happen---they've been talking about these projects---electrifying caltrain, the bart to antioch, more ace service, smart raising money for it, since i was your age, which was probably, early 90s. it's been a long slow hill

[@Thom-TRA]

I am sad I had such little time in the area. I loved it, and I cannot wait to come back!

[@bryanCJC2105]

Good overview of ACE! It's too bad you didn't have a chance to ride ACE but it would've been an all day affair and you would have had to spend six hours in Stockton, although you may have been able to catch a San Joaquins train back to Oakland. ACE certainly needs a great deal of improvement especially as more and more people are pushed into the San Joaquin Valley by housing costs. The planned tunnel over the pass would greatly reduce travel times making the system a more attractive alternative as more than just a rush commuter service. The last train to Stockton leaves at 6.30 pm. That's pretty early. The ACE map shows BART connections at Livermore and Pleasanton but there is NO direct connection w BART. A BART connection is important as there are a lot of people who are going to the East Bay or San Francisco and not the South Bay. I know Caltrain is looking at a Dumbarton crossing but perhaps both ACE and Caltrain will serve that corridor, providing Central Valley commuters better access to northern Silicon Valley and the Peninsula. I often wondered whether e-BART would eventually head east to Stockton. The geography is more favorable and offers a straight shot at high speed. It would also provide more options from the Central Valley to the East Bay and the City. Incidentally, San Jose's light rail is often rated as the worst light rail system on the continent w very low ridership and very high costs. Frankly, the routing does little to serve the average San Jose resident and goes nowhere near the areas major commercial corridors. It was built largely for the tech employees who now work from home, not that many of them ever used it before Covid.

[@Thom-TRA]

I never knew that about VTA. Sad, hope it can improve in the future. As for ACE, I’m hopeful things will pick up in the future. As you said, WFH has shaken people up quite a bit. All across the country I think railroads are realizing they need to make their products attractive for a wider audience. Luckily, transit in California seems to be able to rely on the government (even if it is still a very car-brained state). eBART to Stockton would be so cool. Imagine the Bay Area Super loop you could make with transit.

[@BCAmtrak1]

@@Thom-TRA😂 that won’t happen you have to use a railroad to get to Stockton from the existing point at Antioch where terminates currently and there’s no viable connection at this moment unless you tie it into the Burlington northern Santa Fe Stockton subdivision just east of Antioch

[@BCAmtrak1]

If gas prices continue to rise like they have been for the last several months I hope that people would get out of their cars and start using public transportation. Someone posted earlier ACE ran a weekend service as a pilot program, especially going for the festivals in San Jose or Home 49ers football games. It would take people out of their cars where they could relax and enjoy company on the train and not have to worry about paying for parking. Let alone gas.

[@bryanCJC2105]

@@BCAmtrak1 that's a good idea to get people that wouldn't consider transit to get a taste and see how convenient and relaxing it can be

[@BCAmtrak1]

At minimum it takes you up to two hours and or longer to get into the San Francisco Bay area from the San Joaquin Valley if you don’t hit the altamont Pass before 4:30 AM. I was just on the train just the other day and I’ve seen traffic as low as 15 or 20 mph stacked up like sardines on the freeway. It’s sad that everyone criticizes this service, especially those from out of town who don’t write it frequently like I do and this 1999 or 2000 and I’ve spoken with a lot of the personnel over the years that I have known and they said that the freight railroad doesn’t give a hoot figuratively. The Altamont pass route used to host the famous California Zephyr passenger train before it was rerouted to the current alignment overpass via Roseville and Sacramento among the same stretch of track that is in question now. Recently that stretch of track is also being used by competitive rival, Burlington Northern Santa Fe to get to their access point at Keddie. The route between Sacramento and Marysville - Western Pacific was also used by the coast starlight as a shortcut instead of being routed by way of it’s original alignment via Roseville and the East valley route up to Klamath Falls, Oregon. I don’t see in the future that they’re gonna reroute the San Joaquins from Sacramento as they already have an existing stop between Sacramento and Stockton in the town of Lodi and there’s no passenger service on the Sacramento sub neither is there a platform where they can build a station😂. The high-speed rail in question is being built, but it’s being built in segments. It’s not being built like it normally would you start at one point and then you expand it’s being built in different locations a little bit here a little bit there.

[@lewismaxvaltteri]

my dad commutes through ace - it's basically the only public transit route that runs by highway 84, which makes it very important to imorove

[@SleepTrain456]

Now, I know a little bit more about the ACE plans for the next few years! I didn't know the hydrogen trains will be used by both the _San_ _Joaquins_ and the ACE! Thanks for the video!

[@BoltsCardsNMore]

I’m an ACE user and I generally have no issues with it just wish they sometimes ran weekends

[@Thom-TRA]

No weekend service: sounds like an issue

[@ck4426]

This looks like an interesting train! I’m glad they’re going to make it more awesome in the future. Maybe you could go back and ride it and give us a trip report then. That would be awesome!!!

[@Thom-TRA]

We’ll all be a lot older by then!

[@ck4426]

@@Thom-TRA 😃🚝😃

[@ChrisH-1952]

I was about to comment that it was good to see that some people actually have a vision for what could be: then I read your pinned comment. 😕 Let's hope the 'other plans' are equally visionary and give a good alternative to the private automobile. I like the detail in these information videos.

[@joserivera-yc5rr]

Thanks for sharing, it's always nice to learn more, very interesting

[@nyonas3908]

Great analysis on ace train one problem you forgot to add is their 6 custom f40ph fleet the MPI F40PH-3C which they're also rebuilding to run with their SC 44 chargers and their purchase of there new Bombardier BiLevel IX cars to expand their fleet

[@Thom-TRA]

I didn’t realize they were rehabilitating their old locomotives

[@nyonas3908]

It's true they only run 4 f40phs are in service while 2 f40phs 3101 and 3106 are in storage 3102 and 3103 run as double header train while 3104 and 3105 run separate in my opinion and theory is after caltrain retires their f40phs ace will get 6 of their f40phs and rebuild them doubling them to 12 f40phs in their fleet or if they wanted to replace there f40phs they will purchase 8 SC 44 charger to double there existing 4 SC 44 chargers to 12 chargers and buy 12 Bl36phs locomotives that's my opinion and theory I have.

[@sixfifty_sebb]

Do you think they’ll run the bombardier cars in the Modesto/Ceres expansion?? just curious

[@nyonas3908]

@@sixfifty_sebb yes there going to run the train sets on the Modesto/ceres expansion with some stadler flirts they purchased

[@freddyted6100]

@@nyonas3908 do you think ace will purchase Hyundai rotem bi level cars like the ones metrolink and tri rail as a second fleet?

[@TenMinuteTrips]

Fun fact: The ACE train route, after leaving San Jose and Fremont, enters Niles Canyon. From Niles and through Pleasanton, Livermore and over the Altamont Pass, all the way to Stockton, the ACE train is following the original route of Western Pacific California Zephyr from Oakland.

[@officialmcdeath]

First San Jose clip I ever saw on this platform, over a decade ago, was about a midweek evening Critical Mass bike ride to a mall, made by a car-free resident - thanks for adding your insight \m/

[@Bayarearailphotos]

Thanks for the vid as a ace fan it is cool to see ur intake

[@JavonWashington-n7w]

The ace f40ph 3c train 🚂 locomotives are my favorite old train 🚂 locomotives models

[@nixcails]

The 04:00 train is possibly a stock movement. We have two trains down from Plymouth to Kernow in GB about that time. The first one is the long distance sleeper (with a standard class seated coach for local use) and a second one is a unit that runs down to run the return services. I do think California as a State big enough to be a country should take all it's non Amtrak railway services and state only Amtrak services in house to one or two operators. Plus more frequent services running throughout the day. As for Hydrogen trains it's a gadgetbahn. Surely electrification at a height suitable for the existing freight operators would be better value for money?

[@Thom-TRA]

I agree on the electrification bit. Hydrogen is a gimmick.

[@nixcails]

@@Thom-TRA totally the Class 600 cancelled project would have been better kept as 25KV AC commuter and regional rail units. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_600?wprov=sfla1 and the lone 614 owned by Scotrail converted from a 1979 EMI

[@MistyOLR]

At a point pre Covid, I was considering the early departure, connecting from Sacramento via Greyhound and most likely continuing on from San Jose the same day. Now I’m glad that I can wait until I have more to do in the area to visit again heh ❤

[@rikkichunn8856]

Thanks, Thom for some really exciting news! Never knew much about ACE before, so it's great to learn from your always informative videos. Hope you get to ride ACE someday, because it goes through the mountains so the scenery should be beautiful! Love your joke about ACE is the place too! 😄

[@ЛЬВИНИ]

Nice railway video, Like!!!

[@Thom-TRA]

Thanks!

[@nicholasthompson7690]

Very cool

[@paulcastillo1310]

Great video

[@Seawiz21]

You ride the 4am train when you need to get to transfer in SJ to get up the peninsula before work at 8. My grandmother did that commute with a Caltrain transfer for 8 years.

[@Thom-TRA]

Wow, that’s a long commute. Wouldn’t Amtrak be faster?

[@MarioFanGamer659]

I sometimes wonder on whether the various services around the Bay and Sacramento should be unified into one single branding (e.g. Caltrain) and give some ID for the different services and their pattern. Then again, European trains aren't all unified either and some routes have their own names and certain brands focus on certain routes so I shouldn't be complaining. Still, though: You typically don't take a name (even if one exists), you take one to three letters plus a number.

[@Thom-TRA]

I am working on a fantasy map of sorts that would address this exact issue, because I’ve wondered the same

[@robertharker]

Stock traiders catch the 4 AM train to be in the office in time for the opening bell.

[@Thom-TRA]

Interesting

[@dylanryall]

Living near Sacramento I’m anticipating the ACE extensions to Sacramento but at least initially it looks like the connectivity between intercity services will be lacking. The new ACE trains to Sacramento and the new San Joaquins trips will go to new stations but not the Sacramento Valley Station where the Capitol Corridor and other Amtrak services stop. This means if I, coming from Davis, one stop west of Sacramento on the CC, wants to take the train to Stockton I’d have to take the CC to Sacramento, the RT Gold line to a stop about 4 blocks from the new midtown ACE/San Joaquins station and walk the difference or transfer there to RT Blue line for a several minute ride to the Sacramento City College station that will serve both RT and the intercity trains. I’m hoping that after getting the new Sacramento stations running ACE will move beyond the entirely commuter oriented scheduling to running trains throughout the day like true regional rail systems and that Valley Rail will eventually extend beyond the Merced to Sacramento run to connect cities further north, like Chico. Almost every city in the Valley has current or legacy freight rail right of ways to them and many were at one time connected by electric passenger rail using streetcars.

[@Urbanhandyman]

It would be interesting to see ACE continue beyond San Jose to Santa Cruz to alleviate the horrible car traffic on Highway 17. There used to be a passenger rail service called "The Suntan Special" for day-trippers traveling from San Francisco to the beaches of Santa Cruz.. What remains between San Jose and Santa Cruz is now freight-only tracks although that usage has apparently ended. If planning begins soon it can open by 2040!

[@Thom-TRA]

I wish there was a train to Santa Cruz too! Currently just the bus

[@michaelinnes2754]

Santa Cruz is planning to start up a light rail service in the area, with either Caltrain or Capitol Corridor (or both) connecting to Watsonville.

[@Urbanhandyman]

@@michaelinnes2754 That's something but I imagine it would add around an hour and a half of travel time in one direction trying to go from Santa Cruz to San Jose versus a route roughly following Highway 17. The earliest anticipated completion date of the light rail service is 2035 from what my limited research indicates.

[@TysonIke]

I think that a Santa Cruz rail line would definitely be operated independently from an existing agency. The only way to make it truly effective would be to utilize the abandoned route through the mountains as the Coast Starlight route is too indirect. The key issue is that a lot of tunnels on that route are in disrepair. It would be possible but very difficult.

[@chasemartin4450]

IMO the Highway 17 corridor between San Jose and Santa Cruz should be built as a BART line to provide easier connectivity to the rest of the region. Could also allow for a Pacific Coast BART line along Highway 1 (with *insane* fare premiums at stations popular for tourists, as a way to fund the system much like MUNI does with their cable cars) connecting Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Not super practical from a sheer passenger volume standpoint, but potentially *very* lucrative given the target riders.

[@yardhog]

ACE's travel time to make the run from Stockton to San Jose is still faster and way less stressful than trying to drive the same route. ACE also might not leave Stockton at 4 AM with a full train but probably arrives at San Jose full. Not the best, but not ignored and empty either. Irony is I made that drive off and on till 1999 to work different jobs on a freight railroad and the drive got progressively worse as it approached 2000.

[@Thom-TRA]

It’s always good to hear a train is better than driving

[@Vinaco1]

“Who’s riding this 4am train” *Me a freshman at SJSU having to drag myself out of bed to make it back for morning classes *

[@Thom-TRA]

Ugh. I respect you.

[@Seawiz21]

The 4am ACE train is for people who need to be in up the Peninsula before 8am for work.

[@Thom-TRA]

That sounds awful

[@theamazinghippopotomonstro9942]

I don't know much about rail on the west coast so forgive me if this question is stupid, but why are ACE and Caltrain seperate agencies?

[@Thom-TRA]

They are managed by different governing boards

[@londonwhaley8690]

I enjoy that video👍👍

[@LaneC-zh8fj]

you should have ridden it. service is very good rode it twice last week. you are aware that this is the original route of the Cal Zephyr service. it is designed for people who live in valley and work in San Jose. also spent two days riding VTA it is not very good. and is the worst light rail service i have used/

[@Thom-TRA]

Yes I am aware that this is the route of the old western pacific

[@j7gy8b]

I hope you'll give ACE a try sometime, especially in the spring when it's still green and the flowers are in bloom. It's quite lovely. Although it's slow - repeating what others have said here - it provides an alternative to one of the most notorious automobile commutes in the Bay Area. Thanks for the information about future upgrades and the HSR connection.

[@Thom-TRA]

I've heard the views are beautiful, definitely planning to try it next time!

[@dennisthebrony2022]

I also saw the interior of some of ACE's older Bombardier Cars not refurbished like Metrolink or Coaster. They were repainted, but still have a dated interior. I would love to also see them retrofit their older railcars. I know they also have the new CEM cars, but also just retrofit the older fleet with modern amenities like AC Power and USB Charging. Here's a video from SuperBaddy4 showing the inside of Cab Car 3302, an example that has been repainted: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2nVlGiNmbdlrtksi=uwMOzEZ1mo2KPqIS

[@FlightAndTrack]

Really awesome video. Too bad you couldn't ride the train😢

[@sixfifty_sebb]

they should js run their bombardier cars in the expansion instead of ordering hydrogen trains imo

[@gdrriley420]

ACE forward is dead, its now been mostly put into valley rail/north valley rail and Southern Alameda County Integrated Rail Analysis San Joaquin is going to keep 2RT a day on the Fresno sub, UP refused to even entertain the idea of adding capacity. Some of the trains on the Sacramento Sub will end up being extended to Chico a plan of 4RT a day currently.

[@Thom-TRA]

I cannot find any evidence to back up that Ace forward is "dead." The most recent news articles about the project date back just a week ago. Edit: I see one report saying the track upgrades are not happening, and so it will be longer than expected to add frequency. But the extension to Ceres and Merced is still on track.

[@gdrriley420]

@@Thom-TRA FRA website show the EIR has been pulled because the current path no longer aligns with the project. Its also no longer on their websites ACE/ SJRRA does a terrible job naming projects often with 1 partial or fully replacing another with a minor name change

[@Thom-TRA]

So looking at the SoCo plan with Union City, it still looks like they're counting on 8 round trips over the current ACE route. How are they going to do that if they don't upgrade the tracks?

[@gdrriley420]

@@Thom-TRA they are going to upgrade the tracks outside of Stockton to Sacramento Fresno sub which won’t see any more trains that it has now

[@zenontrainstrucks9433]

Geart video! ACE maybe not the best in terms of trains per day, but the ride on ACE is great! Next you are in the bay, you need to ride ACE.

[@djjamar]

Only operates oneway in morning and opposite in the evening.

[@triaxe-mmb]

ACE is pretty bad in terms of frequency but it is still better than driving from the Stockton and East Bay to SJ and on to silicon valley...I took this train for years and planned my entire day around it's schedule during the school and then work week... And yes, I took that 4am train Stockton when starting from Pleasanton to Great America or SJ depending on my connections and such. Hopefully if/when they buy their own RoW they can increase frequency so it's not a commuter rail service with 3-4 runs each direction a day. When they build it as a regional rail service, I would take it for fun trips to the South Bay or to visit friends out in the Sac//Lodi/Stockton area on weekends...

[@Theofficaltransitpingwin]

WOW

[@frongus47]

One thing l noticed out the us and their train is in rural station the quality of the train stations if not that good l think they need to improve it because little things like elevators or pedestrian bridge go a long way or shops at the station in examplain l live in a small town of 25k people but there is a elevator and pedestrian bridge there is also a shop and a waiting room when getting a train its more comfortable due to the fact l can show up for my train early and get a coffe and sit at the waiting room while waiting for the train but in the us l think this is moreimportnat because a small town in the US is much beringer than a small town in the uk

[@Thom-TRA]

I think it is definitely headed in the right direction!

[@alexisdespland4939]

the four am train is f probably for both railwayworker and drunk students.

[@jessicanelson3355]

This might not be the worst

[@alexisdespland4939]

they must have the ace in the hole. lol

[@ArthurTheLMandLKFan]

Is ACE Repainting Their F40s

[@Thom-TRA]

I'm not sure they're keeping them

[@redriverwave]

It’s too bad that the freight train lines make for a ‘slow speed snail commuter route’, especially when people need transportation to get to work.

[@billtherailfanner455]

Altamont Corridor Express is a bad commuter rail with a lot of potential to be good. ACE may have nice looking trains, and good sounding K5LA horns, like the ones on their older cab cars for example, but it doesn't decive me from the problems ACE has. Some of the problems with ACE include no weekend service, a bad frequency of trains, which means very little trains during the day, bad track conditions, and many curves, which result in the trip being slower, and no electrification. But thankfully, ACE is getting better due to track upgrades and rerouting the route along the city Tracy to make the route faster than the current route, and they are expanding their services to Sacramento, and to Modesto, Ceres, and Merced along a branch line in the future. I love the new CEM cars and cab cars that ACE has brought, they look very nice and are safer than the old cars, and I know a lot of people don't like them, but personally I love them and I would say they are better because they are safer. I also like that there will be Stalder FlIRT sets running along ACE routes or some of them, but the issue in my opinion about them is that they are hydrogen instead of using overhead wires, and I like overhead wires better than battery and hydrogen powered trains and I would love for ACE to be electrified one day. For right now, I would say ACE is one of the worst commuter rail services in the US, and the worst in California, but I still think North Star and Music City Star are worse in my opinion. But at least ACE is making progress of trying to improve their services, like with track upgrades, service expansions, and new trains, even if I prefer overhead wires, and they are gonna add more trains on the timetable soon, which is sweet. Overall nice video with a lot of good points.

[@davinp]

ACE service is very limited, much more than VRE

[@hndit2u]

Hydrogen? Lol. I give less than 5 years before they scrap that crap

[@stickynorth]

As much as I dump on hydrogen as a GOP alternate fact technology it does have its place when battery electric trains just won't cut it. Yes they cost more to fuel than diesel but when they improve local air quality INFINITELY more, especially for people with moderate to severe asthma like me, there isn't enough money I could throw at people to make diesel die fast enough. And I say that as a proud owner of a Smart Fortwo cdi... It gets a 50+ MPG beast which costs me about $15 USD to fill and gets about 250 miles on a single tank but DAMN if the visible black carbon soot on the interior makes my lungs ache... Bring on the hydrogen-electric trains ASAP including for cargo... Where I live, CP is heavily investing in hydrogen rail for all its fleet including switchers and hauling locomotives which means trains here will get even better too!

[@Thom-TRA]

Yeah, I notice people never talk enough about the adverse health effects of carbon emissions. And I've always wanted to know what it's like to drive a smart car lol.

[@tikimandude112]

hydrogen train is stupid and unnecessary. Please make passenger experience better, faster and cheaper before trying to do space age things