Caltrain and California’s high-speed rail planners on Thursday inched closer to funding a safety and scheduling upgrade needed before the two agencies can transform the local rail line.
The $16 million grant announced from the federal Department of Transportation, matched with $4 million from Caltrain, will help fund the planning for a $251 million system required before electric rail service can begin on the 52-mile corridor between San Francisco and San Jose. It’s part of the more-than-$6 billion four-track project on the corridor, with both commuter and bullet trains running on a pair of tracks.
U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, who for 13 months has been working federal leaders to win the funds for her area, said the award keeps the planning process on track.
“Because without it, I don’t think we would have made it,” Eshoo said. “And that would have thrown sand in the gears on the whole issue of improving not only Caltrain safety and efficiency, but making it a 21st-century transportation system.”
Congress in 2008 required the positive train control system to be implemented on the Caltrain corridor and all other rail lines on which freight trains run. The system is designed to ensure trains stay far enough apart to avoid collisions.
Contact Mike Rosenberg at 408-920-5705.
