Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..
Tonight
Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, the agency that owns and operates Caltrain, unanimously approved a regional agreement to fully fund the electrification of the railroad yesterday.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the California High-Speed Rail Authority and more than a half-dozen Bay Area public agencies leverages local, regional and federal funding to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in high-speed rail funds for the project. Riders could see an electrified Caltrain system as soon as 2019 under the agreement.
Board Chair Adrienne Tissier urged the board to support the MOU saying: "Today is the day. This is the beginning of making sure that we have a cleaner train, a faster train, more service, more stops, less noise and cleaner air.”
The agreement is based on a "blended system” first proposed by U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, and Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park.
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"The recent action taken by the several transit agencies will produce an historic accomplishment — the modernization of Caltrain,” Eshoo wrote in a statement. "A 21st century system will serve Silicon Valley commuters well, while stimulating local economies and alleviating traffic congestion. This is a huge win for the people of the Peninsula.”
A blended system would allow Caltrain and high-speed rail to operate on the Caltrain tracks using the current infrastructure with a combination of electrification and positive train control.
The agreement has already been approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
Over the next few weeks, it will be considered by the city and county of San Francisco, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, the city of San Jose, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Transbay Terminal Joint Powers Board.
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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.
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Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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