Regional Rail Plan

9-26-07 Update:
MTC adopted the final Regional Rail Plan at its meeting on September 26, 2007. The final plan will be posted here when it becomes available.

See also:

• California High Speed Rail Authority Bay Area to Central Valley Program EIR/EIS

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All Aboard!

MTC, California High-Speed Rail Authority, BART, and Caltrain, along with a coalition of rail passenger and freight operators, are currently preparing a comprehensive Regional Rail Plan for the Bay Area, as required by the voters in the Regional Measure 2 (RM2) Traffic Congestion Relief Program.

Study Purpose

The Regional Rail Plan will examine ways to incorporate passenger trains into existing rail systems, improve connections to other trains and transit, expand the regional rapid transit network, increase rail capacity and coordinate rail investment around transit-friendly communities and businesses. The plan will also include a detailed analysis of potential high-speed rail routes between the Bay Area and the Central Valley for the Rail Authority’s environmental review of the proposed rail lines.

Overall, the plan will look at improvements and extensions of railroad, rapid transit, and high-speed rail services for the near (5 to 10 years), intermediate (10 to 25 years), and long-terms (beyond 25 years).

Study Structure

Staff from MTC, BART, Caltrain and the California High-Speed Rail Authority are managing the Regional Rail Plan. As required in RM2, a steering committee consisting of regional rail passenger operators, freight railroad operators, county congestion management agencies will provide direction during the plan development. The steering committee will be the forum for coordinated review and comment on the plan prior to its submission to MTC for approval.

Study Scope

The Regional Rail Plan study effort will be divided into three phases.

• Phase 1 - Develop conceptual alternatives and screening criteria.
• Phase 2 - Rigorously screen the conceptual alternatives and identify the final study alternatives.
• Phase 3 - Perform detailed technical evaluations of the study alternatives and prepare a draft and final plan identifying railroad, rapid transit, and high-speed rail extensions and services for the near (5 to 10 years), intermediate (10 to 25 years) and long terms (beyond 25 years).
  

Study Status

After many months of analysis and stakeholder involvement, MTC, BART, and Caltrain unveiled a blueprint for expanding the region's network of rail lines through a series of regional rail workshops starting on August 15, 2007 and ending on August 27, 2007. The Draft Report Summary and all other workshop materials may be downloaded below. The Regional Rail Plan's Draft Report Summary identifies potential rail passenger improvements over the next 50 years. The public comment period spans 43-days, starting on August 15 through September 26, 2007. MTC's Planning Committee is slated to review the Draft Report at its September 14 meeting, and the Commission will take action on the Final Report at its September 26 meeting.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority, with the Federal Rail Administration, has prepared a programmatic Draft EIR/EIS that further examines the San Francisco Bay Area to Central Valley region. This Draft EIR/EIS generally describes the environmental impacts of a proposed High-Speed Train system within the broad corridor between and including the Altamont Pass and Pacheco Pass. Please note that the Regional Rail Plan will identify the most promising high-speed rail entries from the south via Pacheco Pass and/or from the east via Altamont Pass for MTC Commission consideration. These study recommendations are formulated independently of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The Regional Rail Plan will provide input to the California High-Speed Rail Authority as it prepares its final environmental document. The California High-Speed Rail Authority will ultimately decide on the preferred routed for high-speed rail between the Bay Area and Central Valley. Additional information can be found at the California High-Speed Rail Authority's website, www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov.

For more information, contact Ashley Nguyen at 510/817.5809.