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CHSRA Releases Draft 2018 Business Plan, Solicits Public Comments


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 18 March 2018 - 08:07 PM

CAHSRA press release 3/9/18:

High-Speed Rail Authority Releases Draft 2018 Business Plan,

Solicits Public Comments 

 

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With new leadership in place, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) today released the Draft 2018 Business Plan that transparently acknowledges the project’s challenges and outlines a sensible path forward that will continue to put thousands of Californians to work building the nation’s first high-speed rail system.

 

“The Draft 2018 Business Plan presents a strategy to implement the nation’s first truly high-speed rail system in the face of challenges that projects around the world of similar magnitude and complexity have faced and successfully overcome,” said Authority CEO Brian Kelly.  “The plan reflects our commitment to apply lessons learned and make organizational improvements necessary to deliver this project to initiate high-speed rail service between the Silicon Valley and the Central Valley as soon as possible, while completing environmental work and making important investments in Southern California,” Kelly said.  

 

The draft business plan acknowledges cost increases affecting each segment of the project ranging from 20-35% and revised schedules that would push out delivery dates for the Silicon Valley to Central Valley Line and Phase 1 System.  The draft plan acknowledges and responds to changed circumstances and emphasizes a new way of doing business moving forward.

 

In the face of these challenges, the draft business plan proposes to continue an investment strategy that builds infrastructure, linked over time, to provide mobility, economic and environmental benefits to Californians and initiate high-speed rail service as soon as possible.  

 

Toward that end, the draft business plan identifies the following investment priorities: 

  1. Meet Our Commitments to Federal Funding Partner: The Authority will complete the 119-mile segment in the Central Valley and complete environmental review for the entire Phase 1 System between San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim by 2022, as required by the federal grant agreement.
  2. Extend the Valley-to-Valley Service from San Francisco to Bakersfield: The draft business plan recognizes the high ridership and revenue potential of linking the Silicon Valley with the Central Valley between San Francisco and Bakersfield.
  3. Deliver 224 Miles of High-Speed Rail Ready Infrastructure for Use by 2027: The draft business plan proposes to construct high-speed rail ready infrastructure in the Central Valley (Madera to Bakersfield) and in Silicon Valley (San Francisco to Gilroy) to reduce travel times for existing passenger rail systems, expand clean, electrified service, and prepare the corridors for testing and potential early highspeed rail operations.

 

High-Speed Rail Authority: Connecting and Transforming California

770 L Street, Suite 620, Sacramento, CA 95814 • T: (916) 324-1541 • F: (916) 322-0827 • www.hsr.ca.gov

 

  1. Continue Bookend Investment in Southern and Northern California: The draft business plan continues to prioritize improving Los Angeles Union Station, the Burbank to Anaheim corridor and the electrification of the Caltrain corridor in the Bay Area. 

 

The draft business plan transparently identifies the project’s challenges, which include longer schedules and higher costs due in large part to inflation, increased contingencies and construction delays in the Central Valley.  

 

Although high-speed rail continues to face many challenges—major progress has been made on many fronts, including: 

  • 20 active construction sites with thousands of Californians working along 119 miles in the Central

Valley 

  • Completion of three structures
  • Hundreds of businesses planning, designing and building the system—including small businesses, disadvantaged businesses and disabled veteran businesses—with more than 1,699 craft laborers dispatched to work on Central Valley construction projects.

 

The positive economic benefits from the program are tremendous, including $6 billion in total economic activity in California to date.  Once operational, high-speed rail will breathe new life into local economies by encouraging the movements of residents and visitors between the major regions of the state like never before, while at the same time, protecting California’s environment.

 

“Building the nation’s first high-speed rail system, consistent with the will of the California voters, remains a tremendous challenge, but it is achievable if we remain committed to getting this transformative project done,” Kelly stated.

 

With the release of today’s draft business plan, the Authority is now seeking public comment as part of a 60-day public comment period that starts March 9 and closes May 7, 2018. 

 

The Authority is providing the following options for submitting comments:

 

  • Online comment form through the Draft 2018 Business Plan website at:

http://hsr.ca.gov/About/Business_Plans/Draft_2018_Business_Plan_Comments.html By email at: 2018businessplancomments@hsr.ca.gov

  • By U.S. mail to the Authority:

o California High-Speed Rail Authority

Attn: Draft 2018 Business Plan

770 L Street, Suite 620 MS-1  Sacramento, CA 95814

  • Voicemail comment at: (916) 384-9516
  • Provide public comment at a Board of Directors Meeting being held on March 20 (Sacramento) and April 17 (Los Angeles).

 

The Draft 2018 Business Plan, required by Assembly Bill 528 (Lowenthal, Chapter 237, Statutes of 2013), can be found online at: http://hsr.ca.gov/About/Business_Plans/Draft_2018_Business_Plan.html

 

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#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 18 March 2018 - 08:10 PM

Caltrain news release:

 
Caltrain Applauds HSR on New Draft Business Plan
 

March 9, 2018

 

 

Caltrain applauds the California High Speed Rail Authority on the release of their Draft 2018 Business Plan. Thanks in part to committed partnership and significant investment from the Authority, Caltrain has been able to proceed with efforts to electrify the Caltrain corridor between San Francisco and San Jose, and has secured the investment needed to replace 75 percent of the system’s diesel fleet with high-performance electric trains.

 

The Draft 2018 Business Plan proposes new strategies that would expand electrification of the Caltrain corridor south of San Jose to Gilroy, ensuring that all communities currently served by Caltrain will benefit from the advantages offered by electric trains, including increased service frequency, reduced travel times, enhanced reliability, and improved air quality. This new approach, which is part of the phased implementation of a Silicon Valley to Central Valley Line, is a continuation and an enhancement of the Authority’s longstanding commitment to eventually connect the State with high-speed rail service in a way that also offers immediate improvements to existing regional rail services, including Caltrain.

 

The approach also focuses on the implementation of early interim high-speed rail service between San Francisco and Gilroy as early as 2027. The addition of high speed rail service to the Caltrain corridor has great potential for maximizing the benefits of corridor electrification, and providing communities along the corridor with new mobility options that will be a valuable part of our efforts as a region to address growing traffic congestion and maintain our economic competitiveness.

 

“We are very excited about the extension of electrified rail service to Gilroy,” said Jeannie Bruins, who is Chair of the Caltrain Board of Directors and a Los Altos City Councilmember. “Cities along the Caltrain line south of San Jose are growing rapidly and this will be a tremendous step toward providing them with the transportation infrastructure they need to accommodate that growth.”

 

Caltrain is currently leading efforts to develop the Caltrain Business Plan, which includes an in-depth technical analysis of the issues and considerations related to the expansion of services within the corridor, including the addition of high-speed rail. Caltrain looks forward to continued involvement form the Authority and our local and regional stakeholders to complete the Caltrain Business Plan, and to better define strategies for enhanced connections between communities on the corridor and for the eventual connection of our region to the rest of the State.

 

Caltrain also looks forward to working with the Authority and our partners in San Francisco to ensure that Caltrain and high-speed rail service are extended to Downtown San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center as soon as possible. The extension of high-quality rail service to the Transbay Transit Center holds dramatic potential for the expansion of Caltrain service to new markets and will help facilitate congestion relief and enhanced mobility throughout the entire corridor.

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