Don’t let SoCal take the Valley’s crucial high-speed rail money

Thirteen years ago, Assemblymember Adam Gray and I worked quietly behind the scenes with Valley legislators to secure $1 billion for widening Highway 99 in Proposition 1B.

It took six years before construction could begin; a billion dollars later, new highway lanes quickly filled with more cars and traffic jams. That is why I authored Proposition 1A, the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act, passed by voters in 2008.

A High Speed Rail (HSR) system is the equivalent of adding 12 new lanes of highway, yet by comparison, it only requires 90 feet of right-of-way width for a double track system.

We love our cars. But California voters affirmed the need for an additional transportation system — a high-speed rail network connecting major population centers throughout the state — beyond planned improvements for conventional rail systems, and between them where gaps in connectivity exist.

Construction is already underway from Bakersfield north to Fresno and Madera. We should optimize our investments by continuing construction north to Merced, and close the gap between the high-speed “test track” and existing passenger rail service. Cooperation between high-speed rail, ACE and Caltrain could set the stage for more immediate relief for California workers who commute from the Central Valley over the Altamont Pass to job centers in the Silicon Valley and Bay Area.

How would this work? One-seat rides from the Valley to San Jose and the East Bay could be expedited by extending high-speed rail to Merced, where it will meet ACE and the Amtrak San Joaquins. Passengers could continue on the ACE system from Merced to Santa Clara. Passengers could then exit the ACE train, walk across an already existing platform, and within minutes, board a soon-to-be electrified Caltrain car into the East Bay and San Francisco.

The extension to Merced is ready for construction; environmental work was approved in September 2012. One-ticket rides from the Central Valley to the Silicon Valley and Bay Area can be delivered with funds previously allocated. The Legislature allocated $770 million in HSR funding to Caltrain to electrify its track from San Francisco to San Jose, where it already meets ACE. And the Legislature approved funding for extending ACE south to Modesto and Merced, where it can meet HSR.

Although construction is already underway, a group of Legislators proposes to cancel electrification of our Central Valley rail system, so that they can move billions of dollars to Southern California for LA’s Metrolink system.

We’ve been down this road before.

In 2011, the Legislature tried to redirect federal HSR funds to the Bay Area and Southern California. Their plans failed when Undersecretary Roy Kienitz, U.S. Department of Transportation, personally visited California to explain why the Central Valley HSR segment had been chosen, and why federal funds could not be redirected outside of the Central Valley. In part, he stated:

“We believe the decision to begin there (Central Valley) was and remains a wise one. This selection was based on careful consideration of the options put forward by California through a competitive application process…. With this central piece built, more complex construction can extend north, south or simultaneously in both directions as additional sections of the project are ready to be built…. The Central Valley line is the essential core of any viable high-speed rail plan for California.”

I support Governor Newsom’s plan for an electrified HSR system between Bakersfield and Merced.

Build the system from the spine, block by block. Let the lessons learned transition from the easier sections to the hardest. Have the right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation and infrastructure nailed down on the spine before attempting implementation in the urban centers. Finishing a tangible first piece of true high-speed rail with integrated and improved connecting services is the only viable path toward a statewide HSR system for California.