The California High Speed Rail Authority has given its final
approval to a route that would link the state’s major cities and
regions.
Environmental studies approved Wednesday clear the way for a
high speed rail system that would connect San Francisco, Sacramento
and the Central Valley with Los Angeles, Riverside and San
Diego.
The California High Speed Rail Authority has given its final approval to a route that would link the state’s major cities and regions.
Environmental studies approved Wednesday clear the way for a high speed rail system that would connect San Francisco, Sacramento and the Central Valley with Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego.
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority officials announced their support of environmental impact studies for the route.
“The High-Speed Rail will connect the economic engine of Northern and Southern California and allow our economy to grow and thrive,” said San Jose mayor and VTA board member Chuck Reed.
Today’s approval of the Pacheco Pass route will bring the trains into the Bay Area from Southern California and the Central Valley over the pass between the Los Banos area and Gilroy, north to San Jose, then up the Peninsula along the Caltrain’s right-of-way to San Francisco.
The next major hurdle for the project is a $9.9 billion bond measure on the November ballot.
Authority board member Rod Diridon says if voters approve the bonds, bids for constructing the first stages of the rail line could begin in 2010.
Diridon says if the bond measure fails, the $31 billion project would be untenable.
The proposed high-speed rail system would travel at speeds up to 220 mph and provide travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two and a half hours.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
