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4/23/2020
California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (CHSRA) board earlier this week approved a preliminary funding plan with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) to advance the Link Union Station (Link US) project in Southern California.
The Link US project calls for expansion of Union Station in Los Angeles to allow trains to enter and exit from existing northern tracks and from new tracks to the south over the 101 freeway. The expansion would increase rail service capacity, reduce train idling times and accommodate future high-speed rail service, CHSRA officials said in a press release.
CHSRA and LA Metro signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that proposes CHRSA's shared use of LA Metro’s right-of-way. It also cites the need for a funding agreement for the Link US project's first phase, which will include $18.77 million for design and environmental work and $423 million for construction.
The MOU also acknowledges a $398.4 million investment from the California State Transportation Agency's Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program earlier this week.
In September 2019, CHRSA and LA Metro agreed to work together to secure $423 million in Proposition 1A funds toward the Link US project. CHSRA is expected to consider that funding plan at an upcoming meeting.
Meanwhile, CHRSA yesterday released the draft environmental document for a 90-mile segment of the state’s high-speed rail project in Northern California.
The document — which covers a 90-mile extent of the 145-mile San Jose to Merced project section from Scott Boulevard in Santa Clara to Carlucci Road in Merced County — will be open for public comment starting tomorrow.
The segment will travel through or near the communities of Santa Clara, San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Los Banos, and comprises of high-speed rail system infrastructure, stations at San Jose Diridon and Gilroy, and two maintenance-of-way facilities.