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The model and data the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is using for ridership and revenue forecasts will provide a solid foundation for project planning, according to a report issued by a peer review panel last week.

The authority convened the panel earlier this year to examine the ridership and revenue forecasting process used by Cambridge Systematics Inc. to determine the estimates used for planning and environmental work. The panel was created in response to calls from California high-speed rail project observers for a more in-depth review of the approach Cambridge Systematics had used.

The panel’s conclusion? The model is “appropriate for its intended uses, will provide a sound basis for future forecasting needs and will continue to be improved to support more detailed analyses,” according to a CHSRA press release.

“We are satisfied with the documentation presented in Cambridge Systematics, and conclude that it demonstrates that the model produces results that are reasonable and within expected ranges for the current environmental planning and business plan applications of the model,” peer reviewers wrote in the report.

CHSRA will include a range of updated ridership forecasts in its business plan, which the authority expects to unveil in October.