Fresno Subdivision

Fresno Subdivision
Ione Lead
Lodi Industrial Lead
Lodi
Amtrak
Stockton–Downtown
Amtrak Altamont Corridor Express
Manteca Transit Center
Ripon
Modesto
Ceres
Turlock
Livingston
Atwater
Merced Intermodal Track Connection
Merced CAHSR
Madera Spur
Madera
Fresno
SJVR Clovis Subdivision
Tulare
Delano
Bakersfield
Bakersfield Yards

The Fresno Subdivision is a railroad in California owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. Mostly built by the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1870s, the line traverses the San Joaquin Valley on a northwest to southeast alignment.

Route

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The Fresno Subdivision runs past the Stockton passenger station, 2012

The Fresno Subdivision runs from Sacramento, California through the centers of several cities in the eastern San Joaquin Valley to Bakersfield, California.[1] From its interchange with the Martinez Subdivision in the north, it runs south through Elk Grove, Lodi,[1] Stockton,[2] Manteca,[3] Modesto, Merced,[4] and Madera before entering Fresno. The line intersects with the BNSF Railway Stockton Subdivision at Stockton, forming the Stockton Diamond.[2] It largely parallels the BNSF Railway Stockton Subdivision and California State Route 99.

Operations

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The line is primarily used for freight movements. As of 2003 a total of 16 trains daily operated between Fresno and Stockton, with 12 operating between Stockton and Sacramento.[5] The San Joaquin Valley Railroad has trackage rights over the line south of Fresno.[citation needed]

Amtrak and the Altamont Corridor Express operate passenger trains over the northern segment of line. Altamont Corridor Express is also expanding its service area, with new stations along the line planned as far south as Merced.[3]

History

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The line was largely built by the Southern Pacific Railway in the late 1800s. The tracks between Sacramento and Lathrop run on the route of the original Central Pacific Railroad. The branch line from Lathrop reached Goshen in August 1872, Delano in July the following year, and had extended past Bakersfield to Caliente in 1875.[6] The merger of Southern Pacific and Union Pacific in 1996 brought the line under its current ownership.

Ten miles (16 km) of the line between Ceres and Turlock is expected to be double-tracked as part of the Altamont Corridor Express expansion.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation.
  2. ^ a b Goldeen, Joe (September 20, 2020). "Feds chip in $20M for major Stockton railroad project". The Record. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Wyatt, Dennis (April 14, 2022). "LINKING ACE WITH VALLEY LINK IN NORTH LATHROP". Manteca Bulletin. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Luczak, Marybeth (December 6, 2021). "ACE Ceres-Merced Extension Project Advances". Railway Age. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  5. ^ Union Pacific Tons per Train (PDF) (Map). Trains. 2003. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Daggett, Stuart (1922). Chapters on the History of the Southern Pacific. New York: Ronald Press Company. p. 126.
  7. ^ Luczak, Marybeth (July 12, 2023). "Transit Briefs: Caltrain, Metro-North, SJRRC, VIA Rail". Railway Age. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
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