Dems fight for electrification: Congressional debate centers on funding for Caltrain modernization

Enthusiastic about their party regaining control of the White House, 14 Republicans eager to halt the controversial high-speed rail project slated to share Caltrain’s tracks wrote a letter last month urging the Federal Transportation Authority not to issue funding that could benefit the state’s bullet train.

In response, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, along with 38 other federal representatives, sent a letter to newly appointed Secretary of Transportation Ellen Chao highlighting what they call Republicans’ “material misstatement of fact.”

“It was stunning to me because there were inaccuracies in their letter and I thought it was very important that Secretary Chao get the real facts,” Eshoo said. “It’s very important to the state. [Caltrain] is not a Republican transportation system nor is it a Democrat transportation system; it is the spine of our transportation system on the Peninsula.”

Eshoo and her colleagues pointed out Republicans incorrectly asserted the funding was sought by high-speed rail, when the actual grant applicant is Caltrain. Furthermore, in a nod to what’s been one of the few bipartisan issues both parties and the president can agree upon, Democrats note modernizing the backbone of Silicon Valley’s transit system is a shovel-ready infrastructure project that will stimulate economic activity and create jobs in multiple states.

“We share in the commitment of the administration to upgrade infrastructure that is in disrepair. This project certainly satisfies that priority,” Democrats wrote in the letter signed by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo; U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose; and U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, among others.

Electrifying Caltrain has widespread benefits with the project slated to create over 9,600 jobs; including 1,300 jobs in Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin and Colorado. In Salt Lake City alone, the project is driving one of the contractors that will build the electric trains to create a new assembly plant employing 550 workers, according to the letter and Caltrain Chief Communications Officer Seamus Murphy.

“When it comes to meeting the goals of creating jobs and improving economic productivity and enhancing economic competitiveness of the country as a whole, this project is a step in the right direction,” Murphy said.

Connection to high-speed rail

Timing is of the essence for Caltrain as it’s dependent on receiving confirmation of the federal grant by March 1 if it hopes to stay on track with the nearly $2 billion revamp of the system that includes electrifying 51 miles of track between San Francisco and San Jose, as well as purchasing new trains.

Although the high-speed rail project became intertwined when it agreed to a blended system of sharing the Peninsula tracks, Caltrain has long sought to electrify the corridor on its own.

“This electrification project is a project that has pre-existed any plans for high-speed rail and is a standalone project with independent utility,” Murphy said.

When asked why there was opposition, he noted “it’s a group of members of Congress that have been opposed to high-speed rail and I think they have mistakenly included this project, targeted this project, in their opposition of a separate high-speed rail effort.”

The Republican letter — signed by House Majority Leader U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy and U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham, who is chair of the House rail subcommittee, among others — contends costs for California’s high-speed rail have ballooned beyond what voters were promised when they approved bonds. They poke at the High-Speed Rail Authority’s funding holes, suggesting that’s what prompted the grant application. Ultimately, they argue funding should be denied until an audit of the high-speed rail can be completed.

The Republican lawmakers aren’t the first to attempt to derail Caltrain electrification arguing it’s too closely tied to the high-speed rail “boondoggle.” For example, a coalition including the town of Atherton has sued over the matter as well noting high-speed rail is contributing $713 million to Caltrain from its voter-approved bonds.

Caltrain supporters contend the electrification project will have vast environmental benefits and provided much-needed capacity — regardless of whether the state’s project comes to fruition.

Already on track

Furthermore, Eshoo notes Caltrain electrification has already been heavily vetted by the Federal Transportation Authority and was recommended for approval.

The application is currently in a 30-day review period and could be approved by the FTA as early as Feb. 17. Money would be doled out over several years and allocations must be approved during the budgetary process. Having already hired contractors to design and build the project, Caltrain has until March 1 to issue a “full notice to proceed” with construction; otherwise costs could rise as the already agreed upon price could be in jeopardy, Murphy said.

With the project supporting one of the most economically-productive areas in the United States, Eshoo noted her constituents and California pay much more in taxes to Washington, D.C., than they receive back. Plus, it’s not as though Caltrain is simply looking for a handout. The $2 billion project includes a patchwork of local, regional and state funding, with the federal grant the final component needed, she said.

“We’re not just shaking the tin cup and asking the federal government to pick up the tab for everything,” Eshoo said. “For anyone to try and sabotage this at the 11th hour, the equivalent of two seconds to midnight, and without consultation [with local representatives], to do this now is deeply troubling. If the majority leader Mr. McCarthy and his friends have their way, they will kill this.”

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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