Valley Link

Alignment

Valley Link is a new regional rail line linking the end of BART’s Blue Line in the Tri-Valley with fast-growing communities in the northern San Joaquin Valley. The authority was created by state law in 2017. The full plan is a 42-mile line to a new ACE station at North Lathrop. The current Phase 1 covers 22 miles from Dublin/Pleasanton to Mountain House. It runs in the I-580 median through the Tri-Valley, then over Altamont Pass on an Alameda County-owned rail corridor and new track beside I-580 on the east slope, ending on new right-of-way in San Joaquin County. Plans call for all-day service in both directions, every 15 minutes at peak, and about 30,000 daily riders by 2040.

In June 2025 the authority split Phase 1 into two 11-mile pieces. Phase 1A runs in the I-580 median from a new aerial Dublin/Pleasanton station next to the existing BART station, through an Isabel station in the median with parking along East Airway Boulevard, to just east of the First Street overcrossing in Livermore. There it branches south out of the median on a flyover and runs about two miles to a new platform beside ACE’s Vasco Road station, with cross-platform transfers. A maintenance facility would be built at the end of Brisa Street, and Phase 1A would use battery-electric trains with charging at both ends. Phase 1B continues from a Southfront Road station in Livermore over the pass to a Mountain House station on I-205 at Mountain House Parkway. A later phase would add downtown Tracy, River Islands and North Lathrop.

Updates

2026-05 — Environmental work runs a year late

The California Transportation Commission granted a 12-month extension, to June 30, 2027, for the $25M state grant paying for Phase 1A’s environmental and project-approval phase. The staff report said the work was 80% complete but had been delayed by the Federal Transit Administration’s NEPA re-evaluation, a matching CEQA addendum, and tribal and historic-preservation consultation. Local reporting the same month said Phase 1A construction could begin in 2028.

2026-03 — San Joaquin COG programs $10M

The San Joaquin Council of Governments unanimously approved programming $10M in state SB 125 transit funds for Valley Link.

2025-11 — Phase 1 cost reported at $4.4B

The Tracy Press reported that the Phase 1 estimate had grown from about $1.9B in December 2022 to about $4.4B because of inflation and required federal contingency. Federal grants might cover $1.5B–$2.2B and local matching funds total about $635M, leaving a gap of roughly $2B. Phase 1B is environmentally cleared and designed but has no construction money.

2025-06 — Phase 1 split; battery trains replace hydrogen

On June 11 the board approved a phased delivery strategy, with Phase 1A from Dublin/Pleasanton to Vasco Road and Phase 1B to Mountain House. It also approved considering battery-electric multiple units for Phase 1A instead of the hydrogen trains assumed earlier, citing rising hydrogen costs. The authority targets Phase 1A completion in 2032.

2025-05 — Federal environmental approval

The FTA approved the project’s Environmental Assessment under NEPA, completing federal environmental review of the 22-mile Phase 1. Design had reached about 30% at the end of 2024.

2024-10 — Supplemental EIR certified

The board unanimously certified a Subsequent EIR for the revised Mountain House alignment, which moved the east-slope route alongside I-580. The Modesto Bee had reported a Phase 1 estimate of $1.86B, with $814M in hand.

2023 — Mountain House chosen as first-phase terminus

In April 2023 the board adopted Dublin/Pleasanton to Mountain House as the locally preferred alternative for Phase 1, deferring the extension to Tracy and Lathrop. In December the state allocated $25M to complete Phase 1’s environmental and project-approval work.

2021 — Original 42-mile project approved

The authority approved the Final EIR for the full line to North Lathrop, which was originally to be served by hydrogen-powered trains.