$2.34 Billion for High-speed Rail Creates Opportunity for Caltrain

January 29, 2010

The dream of high-speed rail in California moved one step closer to reality today with the Obama administration’s award of $2.34 billion in federal funds for the project. The award not only increases the opportunity to move California high-speed rail down the track, it also boosts funding opportunities for high-speed rail on the Caltrain corridor.

In partnership with the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Caltrain will be able to advance programs that will improve the safety of the system through grade separations, will assure the financial viability of Caltrain, which is dependent upon electrification and modernization for future operations, and will extend far into the future the environmental benefits of a rail service that currently is taking 12 million automobile trips per year off the region's highways and roadways.

The effort to bring high-speed rail to the Caltrain corridor is directed by the Peninsula Rail Program, a partnership between The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board and the high-speed rail authority to deliver high-speed rail and modernize and electrify Caltrain.

“Today’s announcement is a victory for the entire State and for the Peninsula,” said Caltrain Chair and San Francisco Supervisor Sean Elsbernd. “High-speed rail will not only create jobs and reduce greenhouse gases, it will bring modern, electric, grade-separated rail service to the Caltrain corridor.”

When California voters approved the nation’s most ambitious high-speed rail system in 2008, no one anticipated the $8 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Every dollar in federal funding stretches the value of the $9 billion approved through Proposition 1A. The State’s application for the federal funds included $980 million for the Peninsula Rail Program.

“Communities are excited about the benefits high-speed rail will bring to Caltrain because it means reduced traffic congestion, better air quality and improved safety,” said Redwood City Councilmember and San Mateo Transportation Authority Board Chair Rosanne Foust.

In addition to the benefits for riders and communities, the modernization of Caltrain is essential to Caltrain’s future as a viable commuter rail system.

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board took over the operation of the service in 1992, which has been plagued by structural deficits for the last several years and does not benefit from any permanent, reliable funding source. Due to a number of factors, including recent state budget cuts, Caltrain operations are financially unsustainable without significant capital improvements.

Even with 12 million riders every year, Caltrain must reduce operating costs and increase capacity by modernizing its signal system and converting to an electric-powered system and flexible, European-style rail cars. Without these improvements, the system will be unable to accommodate future population and job growth on the Peninsula, forcing riders back into their cars and increasing traffic and regional greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Administration’s announcement is more evidence of the tremendous potential that high-speed rail brings to the Peninsula,” said CEO/General Manager Mike Scanlon. “Without the significant financial resources of high-speed rail, Caltrain’s existence is at risk. We owe it to future generations to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that high-speed rail brings to Caltrain.”

Caltrain is a 77-mile daily commuter rail service between San Francisco and San Jose, with weekday commute-hour service to Gilroy. Caltrain operates 90 weekday trains, including 22 Baby Bullet express trains.

Caltrain is owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which is made up of three representatives from the City and County of San Francisco, the San Mateo County Transit District and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.