Wednesday, January 30, 2002 - 2:48:39 AM MST
ACE feels pinch of sluggish economy
Addition of fourth train pushed back
By Brooke Bryant
STAFF WRITER
Just three months ago, the Altamont Commuter Express was being touted
on Capitol Hill as a model transit program.
But instead of basking in the glow of congressional kudos, the train
system that rolls through Fremont each weekday on its way to and from
the Silicon Valley is feeling the pinch of the slowing economy and the
sting of a local political skirmish.
A freeze in federal funding for Bay Area transportation projects
announced last week could delay $10 million worth of improvements to
the ACE tracks, while the implosion of the technology sector has
stalled growth on the trains, which are heavily dependent on their
Silicon Valley ridership.
In addition, protracted negotiations with Union Pacific Railroad --
which owns some of the tracks on which the ACE trains run -- have
pushed back the addition of a fourth train to the schedule, executive
director Stacey Mortensen said.
Ridership numbers on the current three-train system have remained
stagnant at about 2,000 riders each way since the high-tech crash,
Mortensen said.
Eighty-three percent of all ACE riders board the evening return trains
from a Santa Clara County station, according to a new rider survey.
The leveling off is a first for a system that has become accustomed to
exponential growth since it began carting commuters between Stockton
and San Jose three years ago.
But the system still is ripe for a fourth train, originally scheduled
to debut late last year, Mortensen said. The new train definitely will
hit the tracks this year, she said, although she wouldn't predict
when.
"We have a couple of issues we're still trying to work out with the
railroad," she said, referring to Union Pacific. The ACE authority
wants to nail down perpetual access, or the right to continue using
the tracks, she said.
Once that's done, the fourth train can be added almost immediately,
because the authority will remove a few cars off each of the current
trains to make up the fourth.
That could make busy trains a little more crowded until ridership
evens out, Mortensen said.
The extra train should help with scheduling concerns, which commuters
identified as a top priority in a recently-released survey. Most want
to see an earlier evening return train, leaving San Jose sometime
before the current 4:15 p.m. run.
The authority also will work on improving seat comfort, another area
of concern, Mortensen said. Not surprisingly, it was mentioned more
often by commuters who board the train in San Joaquin for a commute
that can last up to 21/2 hours.
The survey also highlighted the success of the ACE system, which was
praised by Congress last fall as an example of the effectiveness of
federal money for transportation. According to the survey, almost all
passengers drove to work before the ACE service became available -- 80
percent drove alone, and another 15 percent took a van or carpool.
Ironically, ACE now is caught in the cross fire of a debate over air
pollution in the Bay Area -- a problem largely attributable to the
number of cars on the road. The freeze on federal funding will last
until the Bay Area gets approval of its regional plan to curb ozone
emissions.
One of the long list of local projects that could be disrupted by a
prolonged freeze is an improvement project for ACE tracks between
Alameda and Santa Clara counties. The improvements include replacing
and stabilizing the rail in places, and creating what amounts to a
"passing lane" for commuter trains to get around the slower-moving
freight trains that use the tracks.
Design work was scheduled to get under way this spring, Mortensen
said, but the authority is looking at ways to defer the project if
necessary.
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