Sacramento is closer to getting a direct commuter rail link to Silicon Valley, but the first trains are now expected to arrive with fewer local stops than planners once proposed.
The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission is stopping work on proposed stations near Sacramento City College and near Acoma Street and El Monte Avenue in Old North Sacramento.
The stations are part of Valley Rail, a regional program to expand ACE commuter rail and the state-supported Gold Runner intercity service, formerly known as Amtrak San Joaquins. The original Sacramento extension called for six new stations between Lodi and Natomas, but the commission is now concentrating its money and staff on a smaller first phase of the program.
The two stations have been moved into a future phase with no construction or opening dates, according to a project list presented Aug. 21 to the commission’s Station and Facilities Development Committee…