Published Saturday, March 3, 2001, in the San Francisco Chronicle
Third ACE Train to Begin Commute Service Monday
New run will originate at Lathrop/Manteca
Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Starting Monday, the popular Altamont Commuter Express will run a
third daily round-trip train between the San Joaquin Valley and the
Silicon Valley.
The additional train is expected to relieve standing-room-only crowds
aboard ACE -- as well as attract new riders.
While ACE's two original trains leave from Stockton, the new train
will begin its run at the Lathrop/Manteca station. It departs at 6:52
a.m., about an hour later than the second train, stops in Pleasanton
at 7:54 a.m., and arrives in San Jose at 8:56 a.m. The train also
stops at Tracy, Vasco Road and downtown Livermore, Fremont, Great
America and downtown Santa Clara.
In the evening, the new train will leave San Jose at 6:45 p.m.,
making the same stops, including Pleasanton at 7:39 p.m., and ending
in Lathrop/Manteca at 8:53 p.m.
Some schedule adjustments will be made to the other two trains.
Information is available by calling 1-800-411-RAIL or on the Internet
at http://www.acerail.com.
ACE has been popular among commuters since service began on Oct. 19,
1998, with two daily round-trip trains between Stockton and San Jose.
At first, each 1,550-seat train carried about 1,400 passengers. But
with the technology boom and Silicon Valley's high housing prices
driving more workers to the San Joaquin Valley, ridership has
swelled. An average of 2,100 people now crowd onto each train, with
some passengers forced to sit in the vestibules or stand in the
aisles.
ACE is preparing to launch a fourth daily round-trip train in the
fall, but the starting date and schedules have not been determined.
E-mail Michael Cabanatuan at mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com.
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