Valley Link Rail Project
Get Valley Linked!
The Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority is undertaking preliminary engineering and environmental review for the Valley Link Rail Project. The Proposed Project would establish a new passenger rail service along a 22-mile corridor linking the existing Dublin/Pleasanton Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station in Alameda County and the Mountain House community in San Joaquin County with all-day service at frequent intervals in both directions using zero-emission rail vehicles.
The alignment would be constructed within a combination of an existing freeway median (along I-580), an existing transportation corridor owned by Alameda County, and new right-of-way in San Joaquin County, terminating at the Mountain House community. The Proposed Project includes four new stations, a Mountain House Layover Facility and a Tracy Operations and Maintenance Facility/Operations Support Site (OMF/OSS).
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Subsequent Environmental Impact Report Public Circulation - Happening Now!
The Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority (Authority) as Lead Agency has prepared a Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) for the proposed Valley Link Rail Project, consistent with requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As further described below, the purpose of the Subsequent EIR is to analyze the potential environmental effects associated with revisions to the previously analyzed improvements included in the Valley Link Rail Project Final EIR approved by the Authority in 2021. As such, the Authority has published a Notice of Availability (NOA) and a Notice of Public Hearings for the Project. View the NOA here.
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The Authority is seeking comments from agencies, stakeholders, and the public regarding the environmental effects analyzed in the SEIR.
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Public Hearings: Open Forum Public Hearings will be held in-person at two locations in the Project corridor:
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 – 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Robert Livermore Community Centre
4444 East Avenue, Livermore, CA
Thursday, May 9, 2024 – 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Mountain House Community Services District
251 E. Main Street, Mountain House, CA
At these Open Forum Public Hearings, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, learn more about the Proposed Project, and provide written and verbal comments that will become part of the public record.
One Virtual Public Hearing:
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 – 2:00 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.
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The Virtual Public Hearing will provide an informal opportunity for attendees to learn about the Proposed Project and ask questions. However, official comments must be submitted in writing by mail, email, or through the online comment submission form on the project website here. Please visit click here to learn how to join the virtual hearing.
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If you will require language assistance services at these hearings, please call (925) 667-4013, 48 hours prior to the date and time of the hearings.
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Written Comments: Written comments on the Valley Link Rail Project SEIR will be accepted until 5:00 PM on June 6, 2024. Please send written comments to:
Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority
2600 Kitty Hawk Road, Suite 103
Livermore, CA 94551
Your comments may also be sent by email to comments@valleylinkrail.com (please include Valley Link Project in the subject heading), or through the online comment submission form provided on the project website here.
Click here for more information on how to join the hearings.
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The public comment period for the Draft SEIR will be open from April 22 to June 6, 2024. Click here to learn more about how to submit comments.
Background
On May 12, 2021, the Authority Board approved a staff-recommended CEQA Certified Alternative, as published in the Valley Link Rail Project Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The CEQA Certified Alternative included an initial operating segment (IOS) that would establish initial service from the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station to the Mountain House Alternative shown in the map below.
The Mountain House Station Alternative IOS is the basis of the Proposed Project to be evaluated in the present Subsequent EIR.
Subsequent to the approval of the Final EIR in 2021, the Authority has advanced design and analysis of the Mountain House Station Alternative IOS from the existing Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station to include a new alignment that responds to requests by the community of Mountain House for a Valley Link station that better serves their community. This new alignment would reduce construction cost, improve travel time through a straightened alignment, enable improved station access, and facilitate the advancement of transit-oriented development.
The proposed changes to the 2021 CEQA Certified Alternative IOS, now constituting the Proposed Project, include locating the Dublin/Pleasanton Station platform to the south side of I-580 (rather than in the freeway median), realignment of the trackway in the Altamont Pass, a new Mountain House Community Station and Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF), and construction of an Operations Support Site in Tracy. The Mountain Community House Station would be constructed north of I-205 on a site west of Mountain House Parkway near the I-205/Mountain House Parkway interchange. The new OMF would be constructed on a site east of Mountain House Parkway and north of I-205.
The Proposed project is currently undergoing environmental review under CEQA and NEPA.