Bullet Train Route Under Debate

The end game of a transit tug-of-war arrives in Gilroy
Wednesday, when officials with the California High Speed Rail
Authority ask for public feedback on competing plans to bring a
statewide bullet train to the Bay Area.
Morgan Hill – The end game of a transit tug-of-war arrives in Gilroy Wednesday, when officials with the California High Speed Rail Authority ask for public feedback on competing plans to bring a statewide bullet train to the Bay Area.

Gilroy and its Silicon Valley neighbors are hoping to see a high speed train eventually travel over Pacheco Pass on its way from Los Angeles to San Francisco. 

But public officials in the East Bay and Sacramento are fighting for a mountain pass through Altamont, an alignment that would limit South Valley access to a service expected to shuttle passengers to Los Angeles at less than three hours at speeds of up to 220 mph.

The public hearing this week in Gilroy City Hall will afford residents a chance to comment on environmental studies surrounding both plans.

“From a traffic point of view it’s outstanding,” South County’s Supervisor Don Gage said, referring to the high-speed rail concept. “You could get down to Los Angeles on a train in the same time as you could on an airplane. The Altamont Pass is a lot more expensive. There are more environmental issues there. And if they go with Altamont they’ll bypass us entirely.”

The Gilroy meeting is one of roughly half a dozen the rail authority is holding in the Bay Area. The agency began the series of meetings last week in San Francisco and San Jose. Business and political leaders from the length of the peninsula have rallied in support of the Pacheco Pass route, which they say is vital to the interests of Silicon Valley. 

A final decision about an alignment is expected by November. Once an alignment is chosen, high speed rail officials estimate they will need two years to complete more detailed design work and obtain construction permits for the estimated $40 billion project. Assuming voters approve the nearly $10 billion in the next years for the first phase of construction, rail officials hope to have the first train travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2018.

“The overall opinion of the (Gilroy City) Council was that if the voters do approve the speed train, then yes, we would like it to come over Pacheco,” said Gilroy Councilman Russ Valiquette. “And before we commit ourselves to whether we want it to come directly through town or east of town, we want to see what the details are of both stations in Gilroy.”

The state budget Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger recently approved includes $20.7 million in funding for continued planning and design for the project. That figure represents just one fifth of the amount originally requested by the agency. 

In addition to public meetings, residents have the opportunity to submit written comments to the agency through Sept. 28. Comments can be mailed to: California High-Speed Rail Authority, EIR/EIS Comments; 925 L St., Suite 1425 Sacramento, CA 95814.