Jerry Hill
Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday restricted high-speed rail through the Peninsula to a blended, primarily two-track system to minimize impacts to communities along the Caltrain right-of-way.
“This is really exciting,” said state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, who authored the bill.
The bill was also coauthored by fellow Peninsula legislators Assemblymen Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, and Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco.
Hill’s office said the legislation eliminates local concerns that the California High-Speed Rail Authority may revisit a four-track option. The rail authority had assured Hill the four-track system would not be built but the governor’s approval gives local agencies like Caltrain veto-authority if the idea rises again.
“You just never knew what can happen,” Hill said, adding that a four-track plan would “create a major scar on the Peninsula greater than it is today” and require eminent domain.
If the authority wants to change, Hill said the legislation leaves it needing to gain the approval of the nine signatories on the memorandum of understanding.
The bill also closes a potential loophole by ensuring that funds cannot be transferred from the Peninsula segment to other segments of the high-speed project and clarifies that $600 million in bond money will be matched by local funds to electrify Caltrain in 2019.
“They can’t bait and switch us,” he said.
High-speed rail trains are not expected to access the corridor until 2029 at the earliest.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Much Ado About Nothing: A Modern Verse Translation, tells the timeless and hilarious story o… Read moreMills High School Much Ado About Nothing: A Modern Translation
Cathy Baird said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.