Harder secures $960,000 for major rail company

A $960,000 grant secured by Congressman Josh Harder will help address a major rail bottleneck in Stockton and ultimately improve rail traffic through Manteca.

The solution is a $237 million grade-separated crossing at the Stockton Diamond Railroad Crossing.

The Stockton Diamond is the busiest and most congested railroad bottleneck in the state. Trains are constantly sitting idle at the Diamond, spewing harmful pollution into the air.

Harder received $960,000 in federal funds for the project through a Community Project Funding (CPF) grant.

The money is earmarked for a major water infrastructure project that must be completed before the rail lines can be separated.

The project has already received a $100 million state grant for the construction of the grade-separated intersection.

“We have some of the worst air quality in the country and pollution from stationary trains and cars is a big part of the problem,” Harder said.

The aim is to end train standstills and allow freight and rail passengers to travel more efficiently.

Currently, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad trains must stop to allow the other railroad’s train to clear the crossing.

“The Stockton Diamond Sewer Upsizing Project will expand the capacity and strengthen the resiliency of our water infrastructure, while capitalizing on the opportunity presented by the work to upgrade our rail infrastructure. With these investments, we are ensuring that both our water and rail infrastructure can support our economy and our community well into the future,” said Stacey Mortensen, Executive Director of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.

UP projects the number of trains running through Manteca will increase in the future, along with the Altamont Corridor Express service that will begin in 2026 from Ceres, with most trains taking commuters to Sacramento. This means the number of trains running on the tracks that run through Manteca could triple from an average of 20 to 60 per day.

This equates to a train departing on average every 24 minutes, while the current average is once every hour and 12 minutes.

Both Union Pacific and BNSF have large intermodal yards in the Manteca area where truck trailers are loaded to and from rail cars. Much of that rail traffic goes through the Stockton Diamond.

The UP facility, located between Lathrop and Manteca and accessible from Roth Road, has been approved to nearly triple its size to 2,186 truck movements per day at full buildout, which is expected to occur in 40 years.

The 2001 expansion of the Santa Fe facility, 12 miles northeast of Manteca between Austin and Jack Tone Roads, increased that railroad’s intermodal capacity in San Joaquin County from 120,000 to 300,000 units per year.

The Stockton Diamond will impact the frequency, reliability and potential expansion opportunities of ACE service and Amtrak San Joaquins passenger rail services that operate on the same lines.

The Stockton Diamond Grade Separation project is a key component of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission’s vision to expand intercity and commuter rail service between the San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento and the Bay Area.

SJRRC is currently in the planning and environmental phase of the $1 billion plus “Valley Rail” service expansion program for both ACE and Amtrak San Joaquins. The Valley Rail Program will implement additional daily roundtrips for Amtrak San Joaquins service and expand Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) service between Sacramento and Merced. It will also support the conversion of the San Joaquins rail and transit bus network to renewable diesel fuel and is a key component of improving the region’s air quality.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email [email protected]