Assemblymember Adam Gray, who serves as the chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Rail, will be hosting a special public hearing on the existing passenger rail services in the San Joaquin Valley on Friday, Aug. 21 at 10 a.m. at the Modesto City Council/Stanislaus County Chambers (1010 10th St., Basement Chambers) in downtown Modesto. The focus of this Assembly Select Committee on Rail hearing will be on promoting the near-term improvement and expansion of the successful San Joaquin and Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) rail services.

The San Joaquin service connects the San Joaquin Valley to Sacramento and the East Bay and serves 1.2 million passengers annually. The ACE service connects the San Joaquin Valley to the East Bay and Silicon Valley and serves nearly 1.3 million passengers yearly. While both services reduce congestion on the roads and highways and improve air quality, they are in need of infrastructure improvements to increase the frequency of service, reduce travel times, improve safety and on-time performance, serve new markets, and provide economic benefits to the region.

The ACE expansion program aims to extend the ACE service to the downtowns of Ripon, Manteca, Modesto, Turlock, Livingston or Atwater, and Merced. Senator Cathleen Galgiani and Senator Anthony Cannella (members of the Senate Select Committee on Passenger Rail) and Assemblymember Kristin Olsen of Modesto are strong supporters of San Joaquin and ACE rail services and have confirmed that they will be joining Chairman Gray as participants in this hearing.

The purpose of the hearing is to promote the San Joaquin and ACE services and their proposed improvement programs and build understanding and support of both services.

The public will also have the opportunity to provide input. Any interested members of the public are encouraged to attend the hearing.

Assemblymember Gray represents the 21st Assembly District, which includes all of Merced County and portions of Stanislaus County.