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VTA Supports an Environmental Report Favoring the Pacheco Pass Alternative for High-Speed Rail!

San Jose, Calif.,- The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) strongly endorses an environmental report that recommends the Pacheco Pass alignment for the state’s High-Speed Train (HST) system.   The Final Bay Area to Central Valley Program Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) was certified by the California High-Speed Rail Authority today.  

The document includes alignment corridors and station locations for the Bay Area to Central Valley portion of the proposed California HST system for further evaluation.

In support of the EIR/EIS designation of the Pacheco Pass alignment to San Francisco via San Jose as the preferred alternative, VTA believes the route provides a faster, more direct alignment between Southern California and Silicon Valley.  It also allows the opportunity to serve the three Bay Area urban centers; San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland, with the HST system without having to construct a new crossing of San Francisco Bay.

“The High-Speed Rail will connect the economic engine of Northern and Southern California and allow our economy to grow and thrive,” explains San Jose Mayor and VTA Board Member Chuck Reed.

   “High-Speed Rail is significant for all Californians and is the wave of the future,” commented VTA Board Chair Liz Kniss.

With the Final Bay Area to Central Valley Program EIR/EIS now complete, the next step involves a project level EIR/EIS, where a detailed comprehensive look at how
the project will impact Bay Area cities will be made over the next couple of years.

A bond act that calls for the issuance of a total of $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds to fund a core segment of the proposed HST system will go before California voters during the general election on November 4, 2008.   If approved, the High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act will provide state funding to initiate the construction of the 800-mile HST system.   Nine billion dollars would be used in conjunction with federal and private funds for the planning and construction of the system.  The remaining $950 million would be available for capital projects on other passenger rail lines in California to provide connectivity to the HST system and for capacity enhancements and safety improvements to those lines.

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About VTA
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special district responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; specific highway improvement projects; and countywide transportation planning. As such, VTA is both an accessible transit provider and multi-modal transportation planning organization involved with transit, highways and roadways, bikeways and pedestrian facilities.

For more information about VTA services, call VTA Customer Service at (408) 321-2300, (408) 321-2330 (TDD only). Or, log on to www.vta.org.