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OUR INFRASTRUCTURE : HIGH SPEED RAIL UPDATE

High Speed Rail – Plugging Along

Written By Robin Shepherd

Californians are an optimistic bunch . In 2008 we approved $ 9.95 billion in bonds to launch America ’ s first-ever bullet train , dazzled by the promise of travel from San Francisco to LA in about two-and-a-half hours . The original plan to complete an 800-mile rail system by 2020 for $ 35 billion seemed reasonable at the time .

A decade later , the HSR Authority ( HSR ) is still in coursecorrection mode . The latest project estimates range from $ 77.3 billion to over $ 98 billion for the 520-mile line between San Francisco and Los Angeles , and trains won ’ t be running until 2029 .
The Authority ’ s recently-appointed CEO Brian Kelly is making a new promise : transparency and progress . Here in South County , we ’ re still looking for reasons to be optimistic and ways to make this project work for us . The Authority ’ s current Acting Director of the Northern California Region , Boris Lipkin , says he ’ s eager to help .
THE 2018 PLAN COMMITMENT
When asked about the HSR ’ s current commitment for rail service from San Jose to Gilroy , Lipkin said , “ We have committed to pick a preferred alternative by the second half of 2019 . Our Board approved to have a record of decision by 2020 . Then we ’ ll do the studies for environmental clearance . Our goal is to break ground in 2022 for this corridor . We haven ’ t done sequencing of construction yet .”
THE UPRR OPTION
According to Lipkin , “ A new concept in our 2018 Business Plan proposes using the Union Pacific Railroad ’ s ( UPRR ) existing corridor . We were looking at a dedicated system before , just high-speed rail , which involved options for new alignments and lots of land acquisition . We ’ ve been in recent discussions with UPRR about using their rail line and adding two electrified passenger tracks to run on . They ’ ve begun looking at things more holistically , at where rail improvements are happening and what makes sense within their statewide strategy .”
“ This option would embellish the Caltrain service to Morgan Hill . Getting to downtown Gilroy using the existing line would mean less impacts . We still have a lot of analysis to do though ,” Lipkin said .
At the time of this writing , the current HSR map did not reflect the addition of the UPRR corridor option being studied , or what the Authority described as “ additional refinements we have made to alignments through a collaborative process with our partners in the region .” Stay tuned .
THE SLOW-DOWN
The High-Speed Rail system is required to deliver passengers from San Francisco to LA in two hours and 40 minutes . Thus , trains must be able to run at speeds of up to 220 mph in some but not all sections of the rail system . According to Lipkin , using a UPRR alignment , “ instead of running at 180 mph through the South County corridor , trains can run at 110 mph and still meet travel time requirements .”
Lower speeds may mean less
“ With the Authority in talks with Union Pacific Railroad , maybe they can build along the existing right of way . That could turn out very well for Morgan Hill to get an electrified line down here . High-speed rail would help get people off Highway 101 , but it wouldn ’ t be a cure-all for the commute .”
Steve Tate , Mayor , City of Morgan Hill
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2018 gmhtoday . com
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