Modesto's 1915 train depot on Ninth Street between I and K streets was remodeled in 2023 to get ready for passenger rail. It still has no train platform. The depot serves bus riders and will keep doing so until an ACE platform gets built.
The first Altamont Corridor Express trains on the extension to Stanislaus County were supposed to run by late 2026. In June 2026, planners told their governing board the northern branch toward Sacramento now targets 2031. The southern branch through Modesto and Ceres has no date at all. If you're moving from the Tri-Valley or Silicon Valley and planned a Modesto purchase around a downtown train, that plan is now built on a station without a schedule.
Why the southern date went blank
The Modesto Bee reported that construction costs have run about $250 million past the $1.1 billion on hand. The largest single cost is laying a second track to keep passenger trains clear of freight. ACE runs on Union Pacific's line, and Union Pacific has to approve the track work, the station platforms and the other details. The corridor toward Modesto also has large fuel pipes and fiber-optic cables under the tracks. According to the Ceres Courier, those pipelines run from Stockton to Atwater and once carried jet fuel to Castle Air Force Base.
The order of work matters too. The new timeline adds just one trip in 2031, from Natomas to San Jose, because planners said the northern route would draw more riders than the southern one. When the southern branch does open, the first stations will be Ceres, Modesto and Manteca. The Ceres Courier put it plainly, saying Ceres service may not arrive "even in five years."
This is not the first slip. The southern extension got its first $400 million from the state in 2016 with a goal of reaching Stanislaus County by 2023. In 2023 that moved to late 2026, and now the date is gone. Local leaders still support the project. Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chiesa said grant applications and engineering will continue on the southern leg.
"There's no doubt it's coming." Supervisor Vito Chiesa, speaking to The Modesto Bee in June 2026
"Coming" is a fine answer for a county supervisor. It's a weak one for a buyer working out what they can afford, because a mortgage payment starts on a fixed date.
The rail commute that exists starts in Lathrop
ACE runs four weekday round trips between Stockton and San Jose. Along the way it stops at the Manteca/Lathrop border and in Tracy, Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont and Santa Clara. Since ACE started in 1998, the Lathrop/Manteca station has been the closest stop for Stanislaus County residents. ACE describes the station as popular with riders who make the short drive from Modesto to the Tri-Valley or Silicon Valley. It sits at 17800 Shideler Parkway, and parking is free for ACE passengers.
Here is the current weekday timetable at that station:
| Train | Westbound departs Lathrop/Manteca | Eastbound arrives Lathrop/Manteca |
|---|---|---|
| First | 4:29 a.m. | 4:08 p.m. |
| Second | 5:54 a.m. | 5:23 p.m. |
| Third | 6:59 a.m. | 6:23 p.m. |
| Fourth | 7:51 a.m. | 7:23 p.m. |
The schedule fixes your day. The last westbound train leaves Lathrop at 7:51 a.m., so anyone with a late start or a flexible hybrid schedule has no later rail option. On the way home, a missed 7:23 p.m. arrival means no ride at all.
There's another detail on the Modesto side that's easy to miss. Stanislaus Regional Transit's Route 70, the ACE Commuter, runs nonstop from the Vintage Faire Mall Park & Ride to the Lathrop/Manteca station. It meets the first three morning trains and all four afternoon trains. No bus meets the 7:51 a.m. train, so anyone taking it drives. StanRTA also runs Route 90, the Modesto BART Commuter, which connects to Dublin/Pleasanton BART. We could not confirm current bus departure times or fares for either route, so check stanrta.org before you count on a specific bus.
What the monthly pass costs after July 2026
ACE raised fares 10%, rounded to the nearest dollar, effective July 1, 2026. Adult fares from Lathrop/Manteca now are:
- Livermore: $11 one way, $254 monthly
- Pleasanton: $11 one way, $254 monthly
- Fremont: $13 one way, $330 monthly
- San Jose: $16 one way, $407 monthly
Over 12 months, a Livermore or Pleasanton pass comes to $3,048, and a San Jose pass comes to $4,884. An April 2026 ACE notice also proposed another 10% increase effective July 1, 2027. It was presented for public hearing, so treat it as a possibility for your budget, not a settled number.
Put that pass next to a Modesto mortgage payment. The commute cost is real and predictable. The commute itself starts with a drive or bus ride up Highway 99 into San Joaquin County.
The county line is where the train shows up in prices
That leads to the number that matters most for this decision. The California Association of Realtors reported in September 2026 that the August 2026 median price for existing single-family homes was $560,000 in San Joaquin County, up 4.7% year over year. In Stanislaus County it was $475,000, down 4.9% year over year.
In August 2025, the two medians were $535,000 and $499,720, about $35,000 apart. By August 2026 the gap was $85,000. The county that has today's ACE stations is the one whose median went up.
Two cautions keep this honest. First, much of the Stanislaus drop came in a single month. The county median was $499,000 in July 2026, so one month of sales moved it about $24,000. Second, the data shows the gap but not its cause, and rail access is one of many differences between the two counties.
The pace of sales also argues against reading this as weak demand in Stanislaus. In August 2026, Stanislaus homes had a median of 22.5 days on market, compared with 31 days in San Joaquin. Modesto-area homes are selling faster at a lower median. For a buyer coming from the East Bay, that means less room to wait. Bay East reported an August 2026 detached median of $1,100,000 in Livermore. Selling there and buying here still frees up a lot of equity. It just doesn't buy you time to decide.
How to price a Modesto home on the commute that exists
If the train premium sits in San Joaquin County today, a Modesto buyer is weighing a cheaper home against a longer trip to the station. That makes access to the north end of town the variable to price, more than distance to the downtown depot.
The Vintage Faire Mall Park & Ride is at the north end of the mall near JC Penney, with access shown from Sisk Road, Pelandale Road and Standiford Avenue. That lot is where Route 70 starts, and Route 90's map shows Vintage Faire Mall and the Modesto Transit Center as its Modesto points.
The roads in between are changing too. Phase 1 of the State Route 99/120 Bypass Connector in Manteca was set for a June 17, 2026 ribbon cutting, adding a second transition lane from the eastbound Bypass to southbound 99 and a new four-lane Austin Road overcrossing. The Modesto Bee reported Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi helping cut the ribbon on those interchange upgrades. The Austin Road on- and off-ramps come back in Phase 2, which depends on funding. Phase 1 of the North County Corridor is set to open in Riverbank in 2028.
Before you write an offer on a Modesto home with a Bay Area job in mind, run through these checks:
- Drive from the house to 17800 Shideler Parkway on a weekday morning in time for the train you would actually take.
- Time the same drive to the Vintage Faire Park & Ride, then confirm the current Route 70 or Route 90 schedule with StanRTA.
- If your workday ends late, test the 7:23 p.m. return arrival against it.
- Leave any value for a future downtown ACE platform out of your offer. No source gives it a date.
- Add the monthly pass for your destination to the housing payment and judge the total.
Quick answers
Has the Modesto ACE extension been canceled? No. Planners said in June 2026 that the southern branch has no known start date, and Supervisor Chiesa said grant applications and engineering will continue.
Can Amtrak from Modesto get me to the Bay Area? Modesto's Amtrak station sits on the eastern edge of the city, about five miles from downtown. The Gold Runner runs seven round trips daily, and five of them run between Bakersfield and Oakland with stops including Antioch, Martinez, Richmond and Emeryville. The Modesto Bee describes Gold Runner riders as mostly leisure travelers, while ACE is timed for Bay Area commuters.
Where would the Ceres station go? The Ceres Courier reports the platform is planned west of Highway 99. Parking would be east of the freeway, with a walk under the overpass to a pedestrian tunnel.
If you're comparing a Modesto home against a place in Manteca or Tracy, I can help you put the commute, the pass and the price side by side before you make an offer, in English or Spanish. Jose Diaz works with Bay Area households making this move. Schedule a consultation.
