The Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during commuter hours. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs, and provides connections with Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley transit systems including Santa Clara VTA, BART, and Caltrain. The service is managed by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC) who in 2020 contracted Xentrans to provide long-term program management services and oversight of the ACE passenger Wi-Fi system.
ACE train set
As a relatively small rail agency, ACE operates four round-trips on weekdays between Stockton and San Jose and carries approximately 2,200 riders daily along the 86-mile route that includes 10 station stops. Comprising a fleet of 30 passenger cars and 10 locomotives, a typical train set averages 6 cars and a locomotive. In 2024, ACE is anticipating introducing newly procured cars from Alstom into service. The new cars will allow SJRRC to expand rail services to Natomas and Modesto/Ceres, offering more options to passengers and also connections with Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) and other services. Wi-Fi service will be available on all passenger cars and is considered an important amenity by riders during commuting hours.
In addition to onboard Wi-Fi, ACE offers passengers a mobile ticketing app that is used by around 65% of riders. A new ticketing platform was slated to be introduced in 2024/2025 that intends to provide seamless integration with other community transit services. SJRRC is implementing a new passenger information system (PIS) on the legacy and new vehicles that will provide enhanced digital audio, electronic signage and CCTV to enhance the rider experience and security. The new PIS will integrate with the Wi-Fi infrastructure to communicate between vehicles. The ability to leverage and share infrastructure provides significant savings to the train operator and provides the ability to monitor all systems within a common platform.
ACE is an interesting case study in that SJRRC was able to leverage CCJPA‘s existing Master Services Agreement (MSA) to procure the same passenger Wi-Fi system utilized by CCJPA without the need for an entirely new procurement process. The solution comprises onboard technology from Alstom subsidiary Nomad Digital and Tier 1 Support from Xentrans.
In addition, Xentrans CTO Alan Rowe provided project management and oversight of the Wi-Fi installation process on existing rail cars, with ongoing deployment support for the new Alstom vehicles in 2024. As new cars come into service, they are seamlessly added to the Xentrans Support system managed by Xentrans VP of Support Services Clay Michaels.
SJRRC has a long-term commitment to innovative passenger amenities, with a combined operating budget of over $930,000 for Wi-Fi communications and ticketing services in FY2023/24. As new solutions are deployed, Xentrans can provide SJRRC with valuable and unbiased business intelligence on the performance and reliability of the systems procured, keeping vendors beholden to their contractual service level agreements.