Search title image

TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

April-May 2009

California High-Speed Rail on Fast Track to Construction

State Bond Funds and Federal Stimulus Bill Give Project a Boost

In this conceptual illustration, a high-speed train parallels a Caltrain commuter train in the vicinity of a joint San Jose station of the future. (Illustration: NC3D for California High-Speed Rail Authority)

 

Tracking California’s High-Speed Rail Route

The “backbone” of California’s planned 800-mile high-speed rail system extends from Anaheim and Los Angeles to Palmdale, and through the Central Valley to Fresno. Just south of Merced, the route splits: The trunk line veers west, crossing through the Pacheco Pass to Gilroy and traveling up the Peninsula to San Jose and San Francisco along the Caltrain right of way; another branch would extend from Merced north to Sacramento. At Los Angeles, an extension would bring tracks to the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties) and then south to San Diego.

Both MTC’s Regional Rail Plan adopted in 2007 and the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s plan call for the high-speed trains to extend their reach by connecting with and complementing the Bay Area’s regional rail network. The high-speed trains would intersect with Caltrain’s Baby Bullet trains in San Jose, San Francisco and select Peninsula cities. High-speed rail passengers could access the East Bay via new joint-use infrastructure (regional rail and high-speed trains) in the ACE rail corridor that traverses the Altamont Pass and a potential BART connection in Livermore (which would involve an extension from the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station).

After more than a decade of hopes, dreams and planning, California’s high-speed train system is on a roll, propelled by a $9.9 billion bond measure approved by the state’s voters in November 2008 and most recently by President Barack Obama’s plan to jump-start high-speed rail in America with $8 billion in federal stimulus package dollars — plus $1 billion a year for at least five years in other federal funds. If the funding momentum continues, fast trains operating at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour could be whisking passengers nonstop from downtown San Francisco to downtown Los Angeles in under two hours, 40 minutes by the year 2020.

The federal commitment solidified further in mid-April when Obama unveiled a strategic high-speed rail plan calling for a world-class passenger rail system. “My high-speed rail proposal will lead to innovations that change the way we travel in America,” he said.

MTC Executive Director Steve Heminger said he is “very encouraged by the thrust and direction of this effort,” adding, “The fact that the president himself released the plan indicates he intends to make high-speed rail a signature issue of his Administration.”

California must compete for the federal dollars with nine other regions planning high-speed rail lines, including the Pacific Northwest, the Gulf Coast, Chicago/Midwest, Florida and Northern New England. But, Heminger noted,California is the only corridor building truly high-speed service. “Plus,” he said, “we have $9.9 billion in state funds, while other corridors have little, if any, local funds.”

“Shovel-Ready” Projects

Also giving the state an edge are years of planning by the California High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA). The authority has identified at least $3.5 billion worth of “shovel-ready” projects that could begin construction by the 2012 federal deadline for obligating stimulus money. Of all the regions in the country planning fast train systems, “California high-speed rail is the only genuine pending project,” HSRA Chair Quentin Kopp said.

One Bay Area candidate is the electrification of the Peninsula’s Caltrain system, which would share right of way with the high-speed rail line. The project would be eligible for federal funds as well as for a portion of the $950 million in state high-speed rail bond money set aside for regional rail upgrades.

With a current price tag of $45 billion, the California high-speed train system ranks as the largest and most expensive project in California history. “There’s no question it is a costly undertaking,” Heminger said, “but high-speed rail has tremendous benefits for the environment and for mobility.”

The HSRA believes that by 2030, the high-speed train system will carry more than 90 million passengers per year, with fares approximately half that of air travel. According to the HSRA, the system would cut 12 billion pounds of CO2 emissions per year by 2030 (equivalent to the annual emissions of 2 million cars) while eliminating the need to build 3,000 miles of freeway lanes and five airport runways.

Hurdles Still Ahead

Despite the prospect of receiving state and federal funds and “expressions of interest” from more than two dozen potential private funders, California’s high-speed rail system still faces hurdles. Several Peninsula cities have raised concerns about the train route through their jurisdictions. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the plan to bring high-speed trains and extend Caltrain to a new “Grand Central” Transbay Transit Center at First and Mission streets hit a roadblock when HSRA consultant engineers suggested that the underground “train box” planned beneath the new terminal could be inadequate for the number of high-speed trains coming into the city. MTC’s Heminger is working to resolve the issue with officials from Caltrain, the HSRA and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, which is overseeing construction of the new terminal.
— Marjorie Blackwell

Contents