News
| | Draft 2012 HSR Business Plan Released | | November 1 - Today, the CHSRA released a new business plan that describes a phased approach to construction. The plan updates cost estimates, ridership figures and funding expectations to reflect current economic realities. Click here to view the Draft 2012 Business Plan. |  |
| | NEW! Archive of High Speed Rail Documents and Correspondence | | June 9 - In response to requests for a centralized location to view documents and correspondence related to HSR, a new section of this webpage has been developed. Click here to read more. | |
| | Palo Alto Rail Corridor Task Force Workshop on Thursday, May 19 at 6:30pm | | May 18 - The Palo Alto Rail Corridor Task Force is interested in your thoughts and priorities about how to best maintain or enhance the character of the Palo Alto Rail Corridor and encourages you to attend their public workshop on Thursday, May 19 from 6:30-8:30pm at Lucie Stern Community Center. Click here for more information. |  |
| | Silicon Valley Leadership Group Palo Alto Save Caltrain Town Hall Meeting | | April 26 - The Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG), in conjunction with the City of Palo Alto, will host a town hall meeting as a part of the Save Caltrain initiative tonight, Tuesday April 26 at 6:00pm at the Palo Alto Sheraton Hotel. This meeting is designed to educate members of the public about potential dedicated and sustainable funding sources for Caltrain and to gather ideas and feedback on potential solutions. Click here to view the agenda. |  |
| | Rail Committee To Meet With Supervisor Kniss on Wednesday, April 13 | | April 11 - The Palo Alto City Council Rail Committee will be meeting with Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss to discuss Caltrain issues on Wednesday, April 13 at 8:00am. Click here to view the meeting agenda and attachments. |  |
| | Rail Committee Meeting To Be Held At The Palo Alto Art Center | | March 16 - The Palo Alto City Council Rail Committee will be meeting at the Palo Alto Art Center on Thursday, March 17 at 8:00am. This meeting will not be held at City Hall. Click here to view the meeting agenda and attachments. |  |
| | HSR Materials Packet Distributed In Washington DC by Councilmember Klein | | March 10 - Councilmember Klein of the Palo Alto City Council distributed a packet of HSR materials to numerous federal officials while in Washington DC from March 8th through the 10th. Click here to view a PDF of the packet. |  |
| | Issuance Delayed: SF - SJ Section Of The Draft Environmental Impact Report | | February 3 - During a report today to his Board of Directors, CHSRA CEO Roelof van Ark made the following statement, “Two sections of the alignment, namely San Francisco to San Jose and Los Angeles to Anaheim, are quite technically challenging. Considering this, and as these sections are no longer ARRA sections, we recommend that the draft environmental impact report not be issued before the end of 2011 for these two segments. For more information click here to read the CHSRA press release on this subject. |  |
| | Palo Alto Receives A Response Letter From The CHSRA | | January 20 - The City of Palo Alto has received a formal response from the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) regarding its recent correspondence with the agency on HSR issues. Click here to view the response letter and previous mailings. |  |
| | Now Online! Video of Eurostar Board Member Guez’s PCC Presentation | | January 10 - Now Online! A live video recording of Eurostar Board Member Jean-Claude Guez’s Dec. 2010 presentation to the Peninsula Cities Consortium (PCC) on European operation of HSR. Click here to view the video. |  |
| | Peninsula Rail Program Head Bob Doty Leaving For HNTB | | January 6 – Bob Doty, Director of the Peninsula Rail Program (the partnership between Caltrain and the CHSRA), is leaving the organization and has accepted a senior executive position with the engineering firm HNTB, a lead consultant of the CHSRA. By agreement with Caltrain and the CHSRA, Doty will not work on the Peninsula section of the HSR project for one year. Click here to view the press release. |  |
| | BART Trench Construction Videos Now Available | | January 5 – The City of Palo Alto has posted two videos related to trench construction presently occurring as part of the BART Warm Springs extension. These videos give insight into what trenching HSR might involve. Click here to view a video of a Q&A session with BART staff or click here to view a video of BART trench construction. | 
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| | CHSRA To Hold Special Board Meeting On Monday, December 20 | | December 15 - The CHSRA will hold a special board meeting on Monday, December 20 at 10:00am in Sacramento due to the recent awarding of additional American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Click here to view the agenda. |  |
| | CHSRA Receives Up To $624 Million in Additional Federal Funding | | December 9 - Today, the US Department of Transportation awarded the CHSRA with up to $624 million in additional federal funding, money originally designated for HSR in Wisconsin and Ohio. Click here to read the CHSRA press release. |  |
| | CHSRA Approves HSR Construction Starting Point in the Central Valley | | December 2 - The CHSRA Board voted 7-0 to begin construction of the state’s HSR system in the Central Valley, as mandated by the FRA. The 65 mile stretch of track will run from near Madera, north of Fresno, to Corcoran, north of Bakersfield and will cost approximately $4.15 billion to construct. Click here to read the CHSRA press release. |  |
| | HSR Committee Packets Update | | November 29 - The December 2 HSR Committee packet has been posted, click here to view that packet and all attachments. Also, click here to view the final November 18 HSR Committee packet that includes all at-places materials. |  |
| | Palo Alto Rail Corridor Task Force To Hold First Meeting | | November 2 – On Wednesday, November 3 at 7:00 PM the Palo Alto Rail Corridor Task Force (RCTF) will hold its initial meeting. The RCTF was created to study land use, transportation, and urban design issues relative to the future of the Palo Alto rail corridor either with or without HSR. Click here to view the agenda for the initial meeting or click here to view who the RCTF representatives are. |  |
| | CHSRA Awarded $715 Million In Additional Funds By The FRA | | October 28 – Today, the CHSRA was awarded $715 million in additional funding from the federal government for construction of California HSR. Over $4 billion in funding has now been secured for construction on the core of the system which could begin as soon as 2012. Click here to read more about how the initial funding might be used. |  |
| | City Council Votes 9-0 To Oppose A Palo Alto HSR Station | | October 26 – The Palo Alto City Council voted 9-0 against pursuing a Palo Alto HSR station last night. This decision will now be formally submitted to the CHSRA in writing. Click here to view the staff report prepared for this agenda item. |  |
| | HSR Committee Recommends No Palo Alto HSR Station | | October 21 – The Palo Alto HSR Committee voted 4-0 against further consideration of a Palo Alto HSR station this morning. This recommendation will go before the full City Council on Monday, October 25. Click here to view the HSR Committee meeting agenda. |  |
| | No Confidence in the CHSRA Resolution Submitted by City Council | | October 2 – The Palo Alto City Council No Confidence in the California High Speed Rail Authority resolution has been submitted. Click here to view the resolution. |  |
| | Federal Railroad Administration Letter Submitted by City Council | | October 2 – The Palo Alto City Council has submitted its letter to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) stating opposition to the most recent California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) funding application proposal. Click here to view the letter and attachments. |  |
| | City Council Votes For A Program Level EIR Lawsuit | | September 22 – After thorough deliberation, the Palo Alto City Council unanimously decided late on Sept. 20 to file a legal challenge to the recently re-certified Bay Area to Central Valley HSR Program Level EIR. Click here to view Palo Alto’s press release concerning this matter. |  |
| | All Sept. 20 City Council Meeting HSR Materials Now Available | | September 22 – A PDF is now available that encompasses all HSR materials distributed to the City Council prior to their Sept. 20 meeting. Those three sets of HSR materials are as follows: the regular packet released Sept. 15, the special packet released Sept. 16, and the “at-places” materials distributed prior to the Sept. 20 meeting. Click here to view the PDF. |  |
| | HNTB Holds HSR Station Workshop in Mountain View | September 15 – On September 13 HNTB, on behalf of the CHSRA, hosted a HSR station workshop in Mountain View. Click here to view a copy of the HNTB PowerPoint presentation that was made at the meeting.
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| | Viaduct Renderings Illustrate Significant Visual Impacts | September 14 – Viaduct renderings created by a Palo Alto resident and presented to the Palo Alto City Council on September 13 demonstrate the significant visual impacts that an elevated viaduct would have on the community. Click here to view these renderings.
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| | Caltrain Calls on the CHSRA to Refocus the Project’s EIR | September 14 – Caltrain Executive Director Mike Scanlon has called on the CHSRA to “refocus the project’s environmental impact report on design and construction of an initial phase.” Click here to view the press release and letter.
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| | City Council Hears HSR Presentations from Palo Alto HSR Staff and CARRD | September 14 – The Palo Alto HSR staff and Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design (CARRD) both presented to the Palo Alto City Council last night on the history and status of HSR. To view the staff PowerPoint presentation click here and to view the CARRD PowerPoint presentation click here.
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| | CHSRA Certifies the Bay Area To Central Valley Revised Final Program Level EIR | | September 2 - The CHSRA certified today the Bay Area to Central Valley Revised Final Program Level EIR. Click here to view the press release announcing this event. | |
| | Palo Alto’s Bay Area to Central Valley Revised Final Program Level EIR Comment Letter is Submitted | | September 1 - The City of Palo Alto has submitted its Bay Area to Central Valley Revised Final Program Level EIR Comment Letter to the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). Click here to view the response. |  |
| | Revised Final Bay Area to Central Valley Program Level EIR/EIS Released by the CHSRA | | August 25 - The California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has released the Revised Final Bay Area to Central Valley Program Level Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). Click here to view this report in sections on the CHSRA website. | | |
| | Supplemental Alternatives Analysis Released by the CHSRA | August 5 - The CHSRA has released the Supplemental Alternatives Analysis for the San Francisco to San Jose section. Please use the link below to view this report.
|  | | Supplemental Alternatives Analysis Report (SF to SJ) |
| | Berkeley ITS Review: CHSRA Ridership and Revenue Forecasting Study | July 1 - The University of California-Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) has released its review of the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) ridership and revenue forecasting study. Please use the link below to view the ITS review and see their findings.
|  | | UC-Berkeley ITS Review | |  |   
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