01/17/2026
📢Valley Link Town Hall Event
A town hall event in Tracy on Wednesday evening aimed to inform the public about recent developments on the Valley Link Rail Project, a new passenger rail line connecting the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station in the Bay Area to San Joaquin County. The event, co-hosted by Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom and Senator Jerry McNerney, drew nearly 200 persons who had the opportunity to ask questions and provide input through a live survey conducted at the meeting.
Meeting attendees expressed strong support for the project, noting “soul crushing” commutes of 3 to 4 hours each day in the survey. A majority of respondents also indicated monthly expenditures of $300 to $400 for gas and tolls. When asked how important it is to have a rail transit connection that connects to the East Bay, an overwhelming majority responded, “very important.” Survey respondents also indicated that lower vehicle emissions on I-205/I-580 and improved air quality was also “very important.” The meeting survey has now been posted on the Valley Link website.
Kevin Sheridan, Executive Director/CEO of the Tri-Valley San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority reported on project being made to deliver the project including construction phasing that would deliver a near-term connection to the Vasco Road ACE Station where passengers would have a convenient cross-platform commute. Construction for this phase of the project could begin in 2028 with service targeted for 2032. “This connection to ACE will provide cities in San Joaquin County with existing and planned ACE Stations near-term rail connectivity to the Bay Area, “Sheridan said.
Robert Rickman, San Joaquin County Supervisor and Chair of the Valley Link Board of Directors, said the project can bring more jobs and help with air quality. San Joaquin County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state,” Rickman said. Our population keeps rising, as that does, so does our traffic. It takes folks sometimes hours to get to work each morning and even more time if there’s a traffic accident.”
Rickman said, “The community, our residents, want to spend less time on the road and more time with their family. The community wants this.”
The San Joaquin Council of Governments Chair Mayor Christina Fugazi said, “Valley Link is one of our top priorities, the Megaregions is the focus of SJCOG”
City of Mountain House Councilmember King-Tingle said, “...one thing that we have been hearing is that everyone’s vision is the same, we have to build public trust, for Valley Link to provide a faster reliable, zero emission connection to the Bay Area”.
Assemblymember Ransom thanked San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission’s Dan Leavitt who said, “for those of us that know our service (ACE), know that ACE does not directly connect with BART. A rail-to-rail connection is superior, with an improved connection like Valley Link could be game changer that attract ridership for those markets, like going to Oakland or San Francisco.
Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom said, “There are so many houses in construction right now, not just in Tracy, not just in Lathrop, but throughout the Central Valley and they’re all going to be coming through this corridor. It’s only going to get worse if we don’t do something about it.”
Senator Jerry McNerney, speaking to the audience said, ”we know how important this is, it takes a community to come together to make it happen, we see that need right here, right now in San Joaquin County, we need the County to come up with the funds to complete this project”
Watch the event here:
More than 105,000 people commute over the Altamont Pass every day. Tune in live, Wednesday, January 14th at 6:30pm as Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, alongsi...
