Valley Link

Valley Link
Overview
StatusIn planning
OwnerTri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority
LocaleTri-Valley/Northern San Joaquin Valley
Termini
Stations4
Websitehttps://www.valleylinkrail.com/
Service
TypeHybrid rail
Operator(s)San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission
Depot(s)Mountain House Operations and Maintenance Facility
Rolling stockBattery electric multiple units
Technical
Line length26 mi (42 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Route map

future phase to
North Lathrop
Mountain House Operations
and Maintenance Facility
Mountain House Community
Southfront Road
Isabel
Dublin/​Pleasanton

Valley Link is a proposed 26-mile-long (42 km) hybrid rail line in Northern California, which seeks to connect the rapid transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in the San Francisco Bay Area with the northern San Joaquin Valley via the Tri-Valley region. Since 1997, BART's Blue Line's eastern terminus is at Dublin/Pleasanton station on the border of Dublin and Pleasanton. Valley Link seeks to extend rail service east from here into the northern San Joaquin Valley over Altamont Pass, which would help alleviate traffic congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on Interstate 580 (I-580). The project resulted from various failed proposals to extend the Blue Line east to Livermore.

The line would run within the median of Interstate 580 (I-580), right-of-way of the first transcontinental railroad owned by Alameda County, and new right-of-way in San Joaquin County. It is being planned by the Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority, a special-purpose district body formed for the sole purpose of its planning. Valley Link is ultimately planned to run between Dublin/Pleasanton station and the Altamont Corridor Express’s (ACE) future North Lathrop station utilizing standard-gauge zero-emission trainsets. The initial operating phase is proposed to be the line between Dublin/Pleasanton station and Vasco Road, with the segments to Mountain House Community station and North Lathrop in the San Joaquin Valley being reserved for future planning. This segment is as of June 2025 in planning, with construction to begin as early as 2028.