Press Release

HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY STAFF RECOMMENDS STARTING POINT FOR STATEWIDE CONSTRUCTION 

 SACRAMENTO – To meet federal and state requirements while building the backbone of a high-speed train system that will eventually run from Los Angeles to the Bay Area, engineers for the California High-Speed Rail Authority today submitted to the Board a recommendation that the project start construction on a critical portion of track in the heart of the Central Valley.

In making his recommendation, which the Authority’s Board of Directors will consider next week, Authority CEO Roelof van Ark noted that the first segment to enter construction would make the best use of the $4.3 billion in currently available construction funds and meet all state and federal legal requirements.

“The decision before the Authority is an important one, but we should all remember that this project is a marathon, not a single stride,” van Ark said. “It’s not about the first 100 yards, the first mile, or even the first 50 miles. It’s about the finish line – building the nation’s first true high-speed rail system, connecting California’s great cities the entire distance between them.”

The recommendation follows a decision last month by Federal Railroad Administration, which directed that the federal funding awarded to the project – both the stimulus funding and the Fiscal Year 2010-11 dollars – must be dedicated to a single section of the project in the Central Valley.

Spanning about 65 miles, the recommended segment would start near Madera, include the construction of two new stations – one in downtown Fresno and the other east of Hanford – and continue south to Corcoran.

Estimates place the cost of the proposed section at $4.15 billion, which leaves enough money to – if necessary – connect these tracks with existing rail lines as per a federal “independent utility” requirement.

Central Valley business leaders applauded the recommendation, which promises to bring much-needed jobs to a region hit hard by the recession.

“It is no secret that advanced infrastructure and transportation systems are the key to economic growth. The country prospered by the creation of the canal and lock system, river passages, railroads and the interstate highway. Transporting people and product is necessary for economic development and job generation,” said Mike Dozier, lead executive for the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley.

“There is no better place for high-speed rail to begin in the United States than the San Joaquin Valley. The Valley offers the most economic landscape for the initial stage of construction and testing. The Valley experiences some of the highest unemployment rates in the nation and very much needs the jobs and economic impact that such a project would create,” Dozier said. “The cost to build high-speed rail is high, but the cost to ignore the opportunity and rely on the existing 100-year-old transportation technology is prohibitive.”

The cost of the project accounts for two new stations, right-of-way acquisition, viaduct construction, site preparation, grading, vegetation restoration, rail bridge construction, roadway realignments, relocation of existing railways and utilities. The final track would be ready in 2017.

The Authority will also consider three other options for beginning the 520-mile project, however, each of them would either leave more money unused or limit the expandability of the project.

No construction can begin until the Authority completes its relevant environmental reviews of the project. The federal deadline for completing these reviews is September 2011.

Starting with these first 65 miles – from near where trains will eventually turn west toward San Jose, south through Fresno toward Bakersfield – allows the greatest flexibility to build in either direction as more federal dollars become available, van Ark said.

“Starting here gives us flexibility to build in either direction – north and west to the Bay Area or south to Los Angeles – as more federal dollars become available,” van Ark said. “The funding other states are sending back to Washington – if redirected to California – would allow us to extend initial construction all the way to Bakersfield.”

View the map of the recommended section for the start of high-speed rail construction.

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