The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) has prepared both a Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Final Program EIR, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), for enhanced rail service in eastern Alameda County. Service is proposed to follow an alignment originating in the Interstate 580 (I-580) median, at the existing Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station, traveling eastward, to Pleasanton and Livermore through an area known as the Tri Valley (see Figure S-1). Ten different alignment, station, and maintenance facility combinations have been defined, all of which are either completely contained within the I-580 median, or diverge from the I-580 median and pass southeasterly through portions of the City of Livermore to the existing Altamont Commuter Express (ACE)/Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) or the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) corridors. The extension would serve to:

• alleviate congestion on I-580, especially during the heavy commute hours between the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area across the Altamont Pass;
• provide intermodal connections to the ACE regional rail system that links Stockton with San Jose through the Tri Valley area and the east side of San Francisco Bay; and
• improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions associated with automobile use.