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Help Craft California Funding Plan for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
06/11/09 - Working with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced today that they have helped establish consensus in the region about the Bay Area’s priorities for high-speed rail.
The vision as outlined by the mayors of the Bay Area’s two largest cities will make high-speed rail a convenient and practical transit option for residents of the region and will increase public transit options.
"It has been a team effort in the Bay Area to ensure California’s high-speed rail system reflects the needs and wants of our residents who strongly support this initiative," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "Together, we have crafted a plan that will bring high-speed rail into the heart of our cities and provide true inter-modal and green public transit."
Creating high-speed rail service from Los Angeles to San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco is projected to reduce automobile greenhouse gas emissions by 6.4 percent and result in a reduction of 73 million Vehicle Miles Traveled each day. The Transbay Transit Center will serve as the intermodal transit hub connecting California High Speed Rail, Caltrain, AC Transit, Samtrans, Greyhound and Muni bus service and will be able to accommodate 12.7 million high speed rail passengers per year and 45 million passengers a year through all modes of transit.. The Diridon Station in Downtown San Jose will become an integrated transit hub connecting California High Speed Rail, Caltrain, BART, Amtrak, ACE, regional bus services, and local VTA light rail and bus systems. The expansion of Diridon Station and the completion of the high-speed rail line between San Jose and San Francisco will be completed by 2016.
"Bay Area residents voted overwhelmingly last year for billions in bond money to fund California's high speed rail system. By working together regionally, we've built a plan that makes sense and will attract federal dollars to build the system," said Mayor Chuck Reed. "San Jose's historic Diridon Station will serve as the regional hub connecting 4.1 million passengers each year with our state's innovation centers and travel destinations."
The regional plan will also electrify Caltrain service along the Peninsula, making the system faster and environmentally friendly. Electric train service will reduce travel time between San Francisco and San Jose by 13 percent. In 2016, the completed high speed rail system will allow travel between downtown San Francisco and downtown San Jose in 30 minutes.
California is on track to compete for substantial funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and regional consensus is an important step in securing those funds.
"Through the leadership of Mayors Newsom and Reed, we have mapped out a smart regional plan for high-speed rail in California," said Steve Heminger of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, "one that will help state lawmakers make the right funding choices and keep California competitive for federal support."
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