The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) continues to advance work to deliver the nation’s first high-speed rail program, with construction well underway in the Central Valley. The Authority is pleased to report that the Los Angeles to Anaheim (LA-A) Project Section is approaching a new milestone moving closer to connecting LA/Anaheim to the Central Valley and San Francisco with a one-seat high-speed train ride.
In 2020, the Authority conducted a Revised Scoping process to propose two new project components, the BNSF Colton Intermodal Facility (IMF) and BNSF's Lenwood Staging Tracks. The Colton IMF accommodated the future growth of passenger rail operations on dedicated passenger tracks and reduced the project’s potential impacts on freight rail by shifting some freight operations outside of the project corridor.
As a result of comments received during public scoping, subsequent meetings with partner agencies and key stakeholders, and waning interest from BNSF, the Authority prepared a Supplemental Alternatives Analysis (SAA) to evaluate a new alternative that would eliminate the need for a BNSF IMF in San Bernardino County.
The SAA was presented to the Authority Board of Directors on November 2 and can be viewed here. The SAA considers three new build alternatives that do not include an IMF and proposes to advance the Shared Passenger Track Alternative for further consideration in the draft environmental documents (EIR/EIS). The Shared Passenger Track Alternative generally resembles the current 2018 High-Speed Rail (HSR) Project Alternative and, among the new alternatives studied in this SAA, best meets the Project’s purpose, and need by serving the most potential passengers in the most cost-effective manner, while also reducing impacts to the environment, existing rail operations, and communities.
To learn more about the SAA and the Shared Passenger Track Alternative, please join us for an:
Virtual Open House Meeting
Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Time: 6:00-7:30 p.m.
To register, please click here
The Authority is committed to informing and engaging stakeholders. A series of outreach activities are planned for this fall and winter that will focus on sharing the SAA with the public. Staff anticipate the Authority’s Board of Directors may consider the selection of a new Preferred Alternative as soon as early 2024. Any new Preferred Alternative would be further refined and studied within the draft EIR/EIS, anticipated for release as early as late 2024.
We look forward to your continued involvement and partnership as we advance the Los Angeles to Anaheim Project Section. |
