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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has obligated $16 million in High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program funds to the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) for the design of a new, modernized signaling system on the Caltrain corridor between San Francisco and San Jose.

“This initial federal investment will enable Caltrain to take an important step forward in our efforts to provide Bay area communities with a modernized, sustainable commuter-rail system that is fully compatible with future high-speed rail service,” Caltrain Executive Director Mike Scanlon said in a prepared statement.

The new system, known as the Communication Based Overlay Signal System (CBOSS), will include federally required safety improvements and is the first step in the modernization of the Caltrain corridor, which is being planned to support electrified passenger-rail service, including high-speed rail, between San Francisco and San Jose, Caltrain officials said.

The system will be designed to allow train movements and schedules to be coordinated more efficiently, which improves the “safety and reliability of all passenger rail operations in the corridor,” they said.

The grant also will fund the design of a positive train control system that will help integrate California’s rail network with high-speed passenger service along the 52-mile corridor.

CHSRA and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which oversees Caltrain, will develop the project.

In 2009, Caltrain became the first U.S. rail operator to receive an FRA waiver that permits the operation of lighter-weight Electric Multiple Unit trains on the same tracks used by freight trains. CBOSS, combined with these electric vehicles, will allow Caltrain “to deliver more frequent service and serve more riders,” officials said.