California legislators should deny Gov. Jerry Brown's requests for all but minimal funding for the California High-Speed Rail Authority in the current budget process, the Legislative Analyst's Office recommended Tuesday, April 17.

The nonpartisan analyst's office, which provides fiscal and policy advice to the Legislature, said the rail authority has failed to provide sufficient detail and justification for its plan to build a high-speed train system.

"Specifically, funding for the project remains highly speculative and important details have not been sorted out," Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said in a 12-page report.

In its most recent business plan, the rail authority projected the first phase of the project will cost $68 billion. However, the authority has secured only about $9 billion in voter-approved bond funds and $3.5 billion in federal funds.

Consistent with the new business plan, Brown's 2012-13 budget plan requests $5.9 billion to continue the project, consisting of $2.6 billion in state bond funds matched with $3.3 billion in federal funds to start construction in the Central Valley.

In addition, about $800 million is requested to improve existing passenger rail services and about $250 million to complete preliminary design work and environmental reviews for various sections of the project.

"In this brief report, we find that HSRA has not provided sufficient detail and justification to the Legislature regarding its plan to build a high-speed train system," the analyst said.

"We recommend the Legislature not approve the governor's various budget proposals to provide additional funding for the project. However, we do recommend that some minimal funding be provided to continue planning efforts that are currently underway."

Caltrain's stalled effort to electrify its tracks flickered to life Wednesday morning when the Metropolitan Transportation Commission approved an agreement with the California High-Speed Rail Authority that includes as its centerpiece a plan for funding the electrification project.

Calling it a major "milestone" in Caltrain's long quest to modernize its system, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission board voted to approve a "memorandum of understanding" with the rail authority that includes $1.5 billion for electrification and new train signals. Under the agreement, the rail authority would supply about half of the funds for the long-awaited project, with the rest coming from local and regional agencies.

The agreement was spearheaded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the rail authority with participation from a variety of regional agencies, including the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (which operates Caltrain), San Francisco County Transportation Authority, San Mateo County Transportation Authority (Samtrans), Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. It is a key component of the rail authority's "new vision" for the controversial system -- a vision that calls for early investments in the northern and southern segments of the line. The rail authority still plans to begin construction in the Central Valley.

The agreement was heralded by various Metropolitan Transportation Commission board members, local officials and Caltrain advocates as a huge step toward electrification, a project that the cash-strapped agency is banking on for long-term financial stability. With electrified tracks and a new signal system, Caltrain would be able to operate more trains and, as a result, generate more revenue.

"This really is the foundation for electrification and, really, for the future of Caltrian," said MTC board Chair Adrienne Tissier, who also chairs Caltrain's board of directors.

For the rail authority, the new agreement provides a way to appease some of its critics on the Peninsula, where opposition to the project has been particularly fierce. Palo Alto in December adopted as its official position a call for termination of the high-speed rail project. It has also joined Menlo Park, Atherton and a coalition of nonprofit groups in a lawsuit that challenge's the rail authority's environmental analyses for the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles project. Electrification also supports the rail authority's long-term plan to stretch the voter-approved rail system along the Caltrain corridor.

Some local officials form the Peninsula raised concerns about the document Wednesday, arguing that it is not explicit enough in committing the rail authority to a "blended" system in which high-speed rail and Caltrain share two tracks. Burlingame City Councilman Michael Brownrigg said the new contract is "weak" when it comes to rejecting the previously considered four-track alternative.

Richard Hackmann, a management specialist with Palo Alto's city manager's office, told the Metropolitan Transportation Commission board the city sees the new agreement as an opportunity "to rebuild a working relationship with the High-Speed Rail Authority while moving forward with electrification of Caltrain on the corridor." Like Brownrigg, Hackmann said his city would like to see a written agreement specifying that the rail system would not use the four-track design.

"We want to make sure it's done in a way that does not adversely affect communities," Hackmann said.

Tissier said that while the two-track design is not specified in the Memorandum of Understanding, it will be detailed in the rail authority's new business plan, which is scheduled to be released in the coming weeks.

Other critics of the high-speed rail project lauded the new document, which they characterized as a critical step toward improving Caltrain. The agency, which has no dedicated source of funding, has a structural deficit and has been relying on one-time funding sources to keep its service levels intact for the past two years. Yoriko Kishimoto, a former Palo Alto mayor who co-founded the group Friends of Caltrain, was among those who praised the agreement.

"There is much work still left to do, but the day seems to be arriving for Caltrain electrification and modernization," Kishimoto told the board. "I truly thank all of you and all the leaders who have worked to align the stars on this day."

Michael Scanlon, CEO of Caltrain, called Wednesday a "historic day" for Caltrain and said the new agreement provides "the framework, and only the framework, for development of high-speed rail to proceed in a reasonable, pragmatic and, I believe, enlightened way."

"Everyone does not quite agree, but Caltrain staff is fully committed to continuing to working with the stakeholders," Scanlon said. "The work only begins when you start constructing a project and you really have to know how to listen to and work with communities."

Even with the new document, which the rail authority plans to consider next month, Caltrain's electrification is far from a done deal. The project is banking on funds from Proposition 1A, a 2008 measure approved by California voters that devotes $9.95 billion for the new rail system. But while voters approved the bond measure, it is still up to the state Legislature to release the rail funds. With the project enjoying mixed support in Sacramento (and overwhelming opposition by Republicans), it's far from clear when the funds for electrification will be released.

Dan Richard, chair of the rail authority's board of directors, indicated at a public hearing in Mountain View earlier this month that the board doesn't plan to ask the legislature for electrification funds this year. Instead, its funding request will focus on the "initial construction segment" in the Central Valley. The rail authority's plan is to start building the line in the middle and to later stretch it north and south.

Caltrain is one step closer to receiving the electrification and modernization officials say the system desperately needs.

An agreement between the California High-Speed Rail Authority and more than half a dozen Bay Area public agencies will entirely fund an upgrade to the system, which includes modernization, agency spokeswoman Christine Dunn announced in a statement Thursday morning.

According to Dunn, the funding agreement uses local, regional and federal dollars to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars matched by the high-speed rail authority.

The electrification and modernization of Caltrain have been in the works for more than a decade, and are "critically-needed improvements that will dramatically improve the service and help ensure the long-term viability of the commuter rail system," Dunn said in the statement.

The announcement comes just a week after Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, urged Peninsula residents at a news conference at the San Mateo Caltrain Station to get on board with the electrification of Caltrain.

Once the system is electrified, Caltrain will be able to operate lighter-weight electric vehicles with major performance advantages compared to the existing diesel rail technology.

Trains will be faster, cleaner, quieter and more efficient, according to Caltrain officials.

In addition, riders will see more frequent service to more stations, which will result in increased ridership and prepare the system to accommodate future job growth.

Modernizing Caltrain is also an important step in stabilizing the rail agency’s long-struggling finances. Caltrain is one of the few transit agencies in the country that does not have its own, dedicated tax base or source of revenue.

“Electrification is an essential improvement that is critical to the future of the system,” Executive Director Mike Scanlon said in a statement.

“This is an enormous step forward that prioritizes these improvements and delivers early benefits to the Caltrain system, its riders and surrounding communities,” he said.

Plans for the electrification of Caltrain still need to be approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission at its meeting next week, as well as the boards of all the public agencies, and the state legislature will also need to sign off on the bond, Caltrain spokesman Seamus Murphy said.

If approved, Caltrain could be electrified as soon as 2020, more than a decade before it is assumed in the most recent version of the High Speed Rail Business Plan.

Caltrain is currently assessing the possibilities of various blended system alternatives to the four-track system, which the agency opposes, to determine what specific infrastructure improvements will eventually be needed to support high-speed rail and how they can be designed to minimize impacts on surrounding communities.

Community Meeting #2 - Thursday, March 29, 2012

6:30-8:30pm
Lucie Stern Community Center - Community Room, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, 94301
Click here to view the announcement flyer with more details!

What is the Rail Corridor Study?

The City Council of Palo Alto initiated the Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study in July 2010 to evaluate land use, transportation and urban design improvements for the rail corridor. The study will generate a vision  - derived through an extensive community outreach effort – for the corridor that extends from the San Antonio Caltrain station to Palo Alto Avenue and from Alma Street to El Camino Real. This area provides many opportunities to connect residents to local services, regional transportation systems and to improve circulation for pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicles. This vision will capitalize on the significant proposed investments in future transportation infrastructure while ensuring the study area and its surrounding neighborhoods, districts, businesses, institutions and community assets are enhanced and improved. The heart of this effort is to facilitate, understand and clarify the community’s vision so it can be clearly articulated in a policy document which will thereby inform future decision-making.

The Task One Summary was prepared to summarize the results of the collaborative work completed up to September 2011. This document is available here and in the "Resources" section.

Third Draft Complete

The Third Draft of the Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study is available for download. The study is a report of the Task Force's work and discusses the vision for the study area. Click on the image below to download a pdf file. Previous drafts of the Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study can be found in the resources section of this website.

A lower price tag, fewer tracks and a fresh commitment to fund rail improvements in north and south California are among the features that the California High-Speed Rail Authority plans to unveil in its revised business plan, rail officials told a state Senate committee Tuesday night, March 13, at a public hearing in Mountain View.

The revised plan, which the rail authority's board of directors plans to release later this month, will also emphasize more than previous documents what has become known as the "blended" approach for the rail system -- a design that would have the new rail system share two tracks with Caltrain along the Peninsula cabinet. This design, which was proposed by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, and Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, a year ago, has been the subject of much debate in recent months, with many city officials along the Peninsula urging the rail authority to commit to the two-track alternative.

On Tuesday, rail officials indicated that with the new business plan, they are preparing to do just that. Dan Richard, chair of the rail authority's board of directors, and Jim Hartnett, a board member, both said that the "blended" approach is central to the agency's new vision for the project. The members made these comments at a meeting hosted by Simitian, who chairs a Senate budget committee on resources, environmental protection and transportation.

Last year, rail officials resisted the "blended approach," suggesting that it would run counter to Proposition 1A, a $9.95 billion bond for the rail system that voters approved in 2008. The agency's latest environmental analysis for the major project sill refers to a four-track system, much to the consternation of officials in Palo Alto and elsewhere.

But Hartnett said Tuesday that the agency, in its revised plan, now embraces the idea of a "blended system" for both the northern and the southern sections of the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles system. Hartnett called the new emphasis on the "blended system" a "rethinking of the whole high-speed-rail approach."

"The new direction for high-speed rail is a high-speed-rail system that is dependent on its success on a blended approach both in the north and in the south," Hartnett said.

This new vision could have dramatic implications for Caltrain, which has also been adamant about scrapping the four-track design in favor of the less disruptive blended system. The new business plan, Hartnett said, would place greater emphasis on relying on existing infrastructure in the what the rail authority is calling the "bookends" of the line (its northern and southern segments). Specifically, he said, it will lay out a plan for "early investment in the north and in the south that will have direct positive impact on the regional transit systems" and lay the foundation for high-speed rail.

For Caltrain, this early investment could mean getting the funding it needs for electrification -- a project that the cash-strapped agency has been planning for more than a decade. The project, which the agency sees as key to raising its ridership numbers and achieving long-term financial stability, also includes positive train controls and a new stock of electric trains. It would cost more than $1 billion, money that the agency currently does not have.

The rail authority's new vision for the rail system could change that. The rail authority is preparing a "memorandum of understanding" with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that would identify "early investment opportunities" that the authority can make in the Bay Area. Though the document is still in the works, Caltrain electrification is widely expected to top the list of Bay Area's transit priorities.

"This is an opportunity for Caltrain as much as it is an opportunity for high-speed rail," Hartnett said, referring to the early investment. "We believe the plan will set out a reasonable way of doing that."

But even as they talked about making early investment in the "bookends," rail officials defended on Tuesday the authority's decision to begin the line's construction in Central Valley. This decision had prompted many critics of the $98.5 billion project to refer to the system as a "train from nowhere to nowhere." Some, including the agency's own peer review group, have challenged its earlier business plan for inadequate discussion of funding sources and for its vagueness in discussing plans to build the system beyond the initial segment.

Aside from the voter-approved bond and about $3 billion in federal funding, the project has no other committed funding. The agency's business plan anticipates private investment in the later stages of the project.

The challenge, Richard said, is to demonstrate that the first segment of the line would provide significant improvements even if the agency doesn't get the funding it needs to build the entire system. The revised business plan, he said, "will have a more rational basis for showing how the system develops over time so that each station that we'll have in front us we'll have something that is useful -- like Caltrain electrification, for example."

Richard, who was recently appointed to the board of directors by Gov. Jerry Brown, defended the decision to start in the Central Valley. Starting the rail system in this region will allow the agency to test the new 225 mph trains. On the Peninsula, the trains would reach speeds of up to 125 mph.

Richard also said the agency believes that the new system's ridership will be sufficient to cover its operating costs. The rail authority's ridership and revenue numbers have been a subject of major criticism on the Peninsula and elsewhere. Uncertainties over these projections, along with the project's escalating costs, were among the major factors that prompted the Palo Alto City Council to officially adopt a position last year calling for the project's termination.

But Richard said that the numbers show that even in the line's "initial operating segment" (the first constructed segment that would be capable of accommodating high-speed trains), ridership would be sufficient to pay for operations.

"We believe that the ultimate ridership projections will mean that there will be sufficient riders on the high-speed rail so that we will not be needing a public subsidy in order to operate," Richard said.

Though Richard did not specify how much the rail system would cost under the "blended" approach, he said the number will come down from the prior estimate of $98.5 billion. He called the price tag (which was a major jump from the agency's prior estimate of about $40 billion), a "sticker shock" for many people. It will be incumbent for the agency to show, in its new business plan, the ways in which the capital costs can be reduced.

"The key to it is the blend approach," Richard said. "This is one of the things that will lock us into the course that I think will save us a lot of money."

Though the rail authority's new vision is more consistent with the views of many Peninsula officials, some said Tuesday that they remain skeptical about the latest plans. Palo Alto Councilman Pat Burt, who chairs the Peninsula Cities Consortium (a coalition that also includes Atherton, Menlo Park, Belmont, Burlingame and Brisbane) said that when it comes to early investment opportunities in the Peninsula, the "devil will be in the details" of the agreement between the rail authority and the MTC. He noted that the MTC signaled that cities along the Peninsula would not have any direct participation in the process.

Burlingame Councilwoman Terry Nagel also said she is concerned about the MTC's ability to adequately represent the Peninsula cities in the "eleventh hour."

"I don't think the majority of the cities are opposed to high-speed rail if it's done right and that's a big if," Nagel said. "It would require money that is well spent on the Peninsula."

Palo Alto residents have a big transportation decision to make in the coming months: whether to support the electrification of Caltrain.

Joined by Caltrain and San Mateo city officials, Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, held a news conference at the downtown San Mateo Caltrain Station on Tuesday morning to encourage residents to get on board with the electrification of Caltrain.

Electrifying Caltrain would make the trains quieter, faster and more frequent. It would also reduce emissions by 90 percent.

"Hear that noise?" Hill shouted during the news conference as Caltrain sirens blared and a train approached the station, screeching to a halt. "With electrification you wouldn't hear that anymore."

Hill said if Caltrain is electrified, ideally it will be merged with high-speed rail along the Peninsula, in a two-track blended system as opposed to a four-track system.

A four-track system, according to Hill, would infringe upon each community along Caltrain. Peninsula cities have widely opposed the four-track system.

The electrification of Caltrain by 2019 would cost about $1.5 billion. Right now a plan is in the works to leverage high-speed railbond money with local transportation funds; each would provide about $750 million.

Hill compared the magnitude of the decision to electrify Caltrain with another transportation possibly Peninsula residents faced in the 1960s: whether to bring BART through from San Jose to San Francisco.

"It's time for us to get involved and study the issue," Hill said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is scheduled to release the details of the funding for electrification next week.

Updated at 5 p.m. by Claudia Cruz with information about a rally in support of high speed rail to take place in the Civic Center Plaza.

Have you been wondering what's the story with high speed rail, in general, and the plans for the San Francisco Peninsula? 

Come Tuesday at 7 p.m. to the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, where State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has set up a high-level briefing and a chance for the public and elected officials to ask questions.

The two-hour session includes State Senator Mark DeSaulnier, (D-Concord) chair of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, and State Senator Alan Lowenthal, (D-Long Beach) chair of the Senate Select Committee on High-speed Rail.

Right beforehand at 6:45 p.m. in the Civic Center's plaza, advocates of high speed rail will hold a press conference and rally in support. According to a press release, high speed rail "is needed to meet California’s growing population and mobility needs," and will create jobs while protecting the environment.

Simitian's office presented the following schedule for the Legislative Budget hearing:

• The first portion of the meeting will feature High-speed Rail Authority chairman Dan Richard and board member Jim Hartnett, will speak, followed by discussion with the senators.

• The second portion, beginning at 8 p.m. will feature Will Kempton, chairman of the High Speed Rail Peer Review Group, also followed by discussion with the senators.

• At 8:30 p.m. the session will include restimony from the Legislative Analyst's Office. Farra Bracht and Brian Weatherford from the LAO's office will participate in the discussion.

• At 9 p.m., any of the elected public officials can comment, and finally, the public can comment.

All public comments will be limited to two minutes per speaker, because of the number of speakers expected, according to Simitian's office. The hearing will go on as long as long as necessary to hear from anyone who wishes to speak.

Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, is located at 500 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94040. Parking is available in the garage under the Center, and in the open lot across the street.

For those who cannot attend but want to see the procededings, Sen. Simitian's website, www.senatorsimitian.com, will stream the sesson live.