Local
Caltrain banking on high-speed rail
By: Katie Worth
Examiner Staff Writer
November 12, 2008
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| Future travel: On Nov. 4, voters approved a bond measure for the California High Speed Rail. (Courtesy graphic) |
High-speed rail could also help pay to lower or raise tracks — called grade separations — at the dozens of intersections where Caltrain tracks currently traverse roads, an expensive and controversial safety measure that cities in San Mateo County have long lobbied for.
Last week, voters approved Proposition 1A, a $9.95 billion bond measure for the California High Speed Rail, which would carry passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles in about 2½ hours.
The electric trains, which would travel at 220 mph, are slated to follow the Caltrain corridor south from San Francisco through the Peninsula to Gilroy, then cut east to the Central Valley.
For years, Caltrain has planned to convert from diesel-powered trains to electric, a move that will allow for quieter, cleaner and more frequent trains. The transit agency has said it hopes to be electrified by 2015.
The project is anticipated to cost more than $1.5 billion, of which only $444 million has been funded, spokeswoman Christine Dunn said.
If the high-speed rail plans are ultimately approved, the project could also offset some upgrade costs for Caltrain, including a large chunk of the electrification costs, according to Dunn and High Speed Rail Authority board member Rod Diridon.
Plans for the high-speed system include building a four- or five-track system powered by overhead lines, with high-speed trains running on the middle tracks and Caltrain running on the outer tracks. Once that infrastructure is built by the High Speed Rail Authority, it won’t be much more expensive for Caltrain to extend it to its own tracks, Diridon said.
“It reduces the costs for Caltrain and it completes the grade separations at the places where there are still at-grade crossings,” he said.
There are dozens of instances where tracks cross roads on the Peninsula, and each will be expensive to alter, according to experts, including the BayRail Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group for Bay Area rail systems.
Raising or lowering tracks in San Mateo is likely to stir up concern from local merchants about how the changes will affect business, said San Mateo City Councilmember John Lee, who added that the long-term benefits will be worth working through such concerns.
“We made it to the moon, so we can solve this,” he said.
kworth@sfexaminer.com
Future Caltrain projects
Improvements the rail system is planning.$9.95 billion Bond funding for high-speed rail authorized by voters on Election Day
$1.5 billion Projected cost of electrifying Caltrain tracks, including the cost of the overhead electrical lines, the new trains, project management, and signals and communications upgrades
$444 million Funds already allotted for the electrification of Caltrain
$100 million Minimum cost of each grade separation on tracks
Sources: Caltrain, California High Speed Rail Authority, BayRail Alliance
