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Saturday ACE train service starts Sept. 7
ace ripon
The plan would straighten out curves and build tunnels to increase ACE train speeds crossing the Altamont Pass.

Saturday traffic into — and out of — the Bay Area can be just as bad and sometimes worse than commute traffic.

Starting this Saturday, Sept. 7, you will have another option.

The Altamont Corridor Express will start running two Saturday trains. They will depart the Lathrop/Manteca station at 7:49 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. and arrive at San Jose at 9:37 a.m. and 10:54 a.m. At Pleasanton riders can connect with BART via ground transportation to head into the East Bay, San Francisco and even down the Peninsula to San Francisco International Airport.

The eastbound trains depart San Jose at 3:50 p.m. and 5 p.m. and arrive at Lathrop/Manteca at 5:36 p.m. and 6:46 p.m.

The Saturday trains are in addition to the four weekday trains.

While the service targets those heading to the Bay Area for leisure activities it is also aimed at serving the sizeable workforce that commutes to the Silicon Valley on Saturdays to work.

Monthly pass holders will be able to access ACE service on Saturday at no additional cost.

Along its route, ACE stops at many popular destinations for South San Joaquin County residents including, Downtown Livermore and Pleasanton, California’s Great America, Levi’s Stadium, and Downtown San Jose with attractions like the SAP Center, the Tech Interactive Museum, Children’s Discovery Museum, and so more. 

For families traveling on Saturdays, ACE offers discount fare for children including: children ages 0 through  5 ride free with a paying adult while children 6 to 12 receive 50% off. 

“Launching ACE Saturday Service has been a goal of the (San Joaquin) Rail Commission,” noted Stacey Mortensen, SJRRC executive director. “The opportunity to provide connectivity for our current passengers on Saturdays, as well as, providing transportation to a new set of leisure passengers is an important step for our service,”. “I have no doubt that new passengers experiencing our service on Saturdays will become believers in what rail has to offer – a relaxing, stress-free ride over the Altamont Pass to their final destination.”

Saturday service is a one-year pilot program.

It is being funded with Senate Bill 1 that raised the gas tax 12 cents a gallon. SB1 also provides funding to extend ACE service to Ceres by 2023 with stops in downtown Manteca, Ripon, and Modesto as well.

If ACE Saturday Service is proven successful, SJRRC will be pursuing additional funds to maintain the service. 

For additional information about the NEW Saturday Service, visit www.acerail.com/saturday_service. Started in 1998 and serving over 1.5 million riders annually, the ACE train runs four daily round-trips starting at the Cabral Station in Downtown Stockton with stops in Lathrop/Manteca, Tracy, Vasco Road, Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont, Great America, Santa Clara, and San Jose’s Diridon station. For more information on ACE, visit www.acerail.com.  


To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com