Port-to-county rail proposed
Trains would carry passengers down West Side from Altamont






By TIM MORAN
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: December 24, 2006, 05:06:59 AM PST

A consortium of public agencies in the Bay Area and the Northern San Joaquin Valley is working to create a railroad connection between the Port of Oakland and the west side of Stanislaus County for freight and passenger service.

The rail link through the Altamont Pass would bring freight containers from ships at the Oakland port to the county-owned Crows Landing Air Facility, where they could be loaded on trucks for distribution up and down the Central Valley and beyond.

The rail service also could take containers of agricultural products from the valley back to the port for export.

Commuter rail service could be extended down the west side of Stanislaus County as well, once the rail corridor is established.

Discussions on the rail link started about 10 months ago, and include the Port of Oakland; Alameda, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties; Altamont Commuter Express Rail Service and Capital Corridor train service; and Alameda County Congestion Management.

The group is preparing an application for the recently approved California infrastructure bonds, and is hoping for funding from a variety of other sources.

Coupled with a second rail project to ease congestion for long-haul trains over Donner Pass to Chicago, the cost would be $1.5 billion, according to D.J. Smith, a Sacramento-based transportation consultant working on the project.

The Stanislaus County portion of the project would be about $100 million, Smith said.

Smith is working with Gerry Kamilos, a Sacramento developer whose company is vying for the right to develop an industrial park on the Crows Landing Air Facility site.

The project has the potential to attract distribution and assembly plants to Stanislaus County, Smith said.

Stanislaus County Supervisor Jeff Grover is enthusiastic about the project's potential.

"I'm more than willing to give it all the effort we can," he said. "I wouldn't want to stand in the way of an opportunity like this."

The rail link to distribution would affect "the entire western United States," Grover said.

Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini, chairman of the Crows Landing Air Facility Steering Committee, is skeptical of the rail proposal, however, and Patterson Mayor Becky Campo fears the effects it could have on her city.

DeMartini said the railroads — Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe — haven't attended any of the meetings.

"I wonder if they have any interest," DeMartini said. "They will be asked to contribute millions of dollars to improve their tracks. Until those two rail companies tell us they are interested, I'm not sure I believe it."

Smith said the railroads would be asked to fund $50 million to $75 million of the combined projects, which address congestion problems the railroads are concerned about.

"We haven't approached the railroads yet," Smith said.

Grade separations in the plan

The group needs to define exactly what it needs from the railroads before inviting them to talk, he said.

DeMartini and Campo also are concerned about how the rail project would affect Patterson. The trains would come through Patterson on the east side of Highway 33.

The project would include grade separations — sending cars above the tracks or the trains beneath the roadway — to alleviate traffic congestion.

A potential grade separation at Las Palmas Avenue and Highway 33 could disrupt business at Patterson Frozen Foods, DeMartini said.

Smith said the train traffic would begin slowly, and the trains would be short, 25 to 50 cars, rather than the long trains that haul goods greater distances.

The project could include moving the tracks rather than a disruptive grade separation project, he said.

Patterson mayor sounds off

Campo said Patterson is being left out of the project planning.

"We get conflicting stories," she said. "How big is this project? Is it real? Are we looking at a big impact in our community? They haven't made us a part of those talks.

"It's scary. Where do they get off making decisions that affect us more than them, and keeping us out of the loop?"

The Port of Oakland definitely is interested in the project, said Eve Grossman, manager of governmental affairs for the port.

The port wants to link to inland distribution centers because that attracts "first port of call" business — ships that come directly to the Oakland port rather than stopping first at Long Beach or Los Angeles, Grossman said. That business is more profitable than being a second stop for a ship, she said.

The Stanislaus County Council of Governments last week put the rail project on a list of proposals for the state infrastructure bond money.

Vince Harris, StanCOG executive director, said he hasn't seen a lot of detail on the project. It was put on the list so it would qualify for funds if it proves to be viable, he said.

Campo, who is on the Crows Landing Air Facility Steering Committee, said she was concerned that the project tilted the decision on a master developer for the facility toward one of the two proposals.

The proposal by the Kamilos group is built around the short-haul rail idea.

The other proposal is from Texas-based Hillwood Inc., headed by Ross Perot Jr.

Keith Boggs, senior management consultant for economic development in the Stanislaus County chief executive's office, said the rail proposal isn't "owned" by either developer.

The Perot group acknowledges the opportunity and potential of the rail connection, Boggs said.

Boggs said the West Side communities have been included in Crows Landing Air Facility talks for six years.

"We are going to move only as fast as the community is comfortable with the direction we are going," he said.

Bee staff writer Tim Moran can be reached at 578-2349 or tmoran@modbee.com.