The California High-Speed Rail Authority has released a new draft plan for the high-speed rail system that seeks to connect Silicon Valley with Central Valley in the US.
The newly released Draft 2018 Business Plan acknowledges the project’s challenges and establishes a new way to develop the country’s first high-speed rail system.
It has also acknowledged an increase in cost while developing the project.
The increased cost would affect each segment of the project ranging from 20%-35% and revised schedules that would postpone delivery dates for the Silicon Valley to Central Valley Line and Phase one System.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Brian Kelly said: “The Draft 2018 Business Plan presents a strategy to implement the nation’s first truly high-speed rail system in the face of challenges that projects around the world of similar magnitude and complexity have faced and successfully overcome.
“The plan reflects our commitment to apply lessons learned and make organisational improvements necessary to deliver this project to initiate high-speed rail service between the Silicon Valley and the Central Valley as soon as possible, while completing environmental work and making important investments in Southern California.”
Among other aspects, the plan primarily identifies four investment priorities, including the completion of a 119-mile segment in the Central Valley line and the environmental review for the entire phase one system between San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim by 2022, as required by the federal grant agreement.
The investment will be made to link Silicon Valley with Central Valley between San Francisco and Bakersfield.
One of the priorities will also include construction of 224 miles of high-speed rail ready infrastructure for use by 2027, while another priority includes continuous investment to improve Los Angeles Union Station, the Burbank to Anaheim corridor and the electrification of the Caltrain corridor in the Bay Area.
