Rail Authority

8/9/2019 Rail Authority

1/13

DATE:

BRIEFING:

JULY

30,

2010

TO: ChairmanPringleandExecutiveAdministrativeCommitteeMembers

FROM: RoelofvanArk,ChiefExecutiveOfficer

RE: FederalHSIPRFundingApplicationfor2010.

Discussion:

OnMonday,June28,theU.S.DepartmentofTransportationannouncedapplicationguidelinesforan

available$2.3billioninfundingforthedevelopmentofhighspeedandintercityrail.Theannouncement

includedadeadlineofAugust6tosubmitapplicationstotheFederalRailroadAdministration.

TheAuthorityanditsconsultantsareworkingtowardsvariousalternativesrelatingtothesenewfunding

applications.Notallcostingexerciseshavebeencompleted,andthispaperinformstheCommitteeof

thestatusofsuchwork,andrequestsguidanceandapprovalfromtheCommittee,sothisworkmay

continuewithinthismannerwithCommitteeinput.

EligibilityofApplications:

TheFRAhasbeenverysupportive inassistingapplicantstounderstandtherulesofthenewroundof

applications.Themostimportantconditionstoconsiderare:

ProjectsthathavereceivedHSIPRprogramfundingunderprevioussolicitations,e.g.,ARRATrack2grants,arenoteligiblefornewfunding(theidenticalprojectscannotberesubmitted).

ProjectsfundedwithARRATrack2fundsmustretainoperationalindependenceasdefinedinSec.3.5.2oftheNoticeofFundingAvailability(NOFA),withoutconsideringanynewfunds.

As CHSRA was awarded only approx 50% of their original ARRA application value, the FRArequiresclarityonhowthisfundingwouldbeappliedincaseofaward,tomeettheoperational

independencecriteria.Therefore, theAuthoritymust refineor redefine thescopeofeachof

these projects, describe how operational utility would be achieved, and redefine what the

measurablebenefitswouldbeofeach.

Projects funded with the new HSIPR funds musthave independent utility (if new projects aresubmitted),

however

new

funding

can

be

applied

to

ARRA

funded

projects,

as

long

as

the

combinedprojectmeetstheoperationalutilitycriteria,andthenewfundingshouldenhance

theutilityand/orbenefitsoftheoriginalARRAfundedproject.

Due to funding constraints potentially one ARRAeligible project/section and one additionalnextround grant scope could ultimately be funded. The FRA would prefer the Authority to

prioritizethesections,howeverifthisisnotpossible,varioussectionsmaybesubmitted.

The redefined ARRAeligible project/sections remain subject to the schedule constraints(NOD/ROD by Sept 2011). The FY10 HSIPR applications for the enhancements of the ARRA

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corridorsarenotsubjecttotheARRAtimelines;howevertheuseofthesefundsiscontingenton

thecompletionoftheNOD/RODfortheARRAsectionsbeingonschedule.

TheFederalshareofnewfundingcannotexceed80percent;however,>20%matchingbytheapplicantwillbeconsideredinevaluatingthemeritofitsapplication.

ValueofARRAfundingandBondmatchavailable:

In January 2010 the Authority received an ARRA award of $2.25B. Of that award $400M has been

allocatedby

USDOT

to

the

Transbay

Transit

Center.

Additionally,

$194M

of

the

ARRA

funds

has

been

allocated for the completion of the PE/NEPA activities for Phase 1 of the HST. Hence the remaining

funds available for the final design and construction will be$1.616B and when matched with Prop 1

Bondfundsthetotalis:

$3.312B

FRAGrantApplicationApproach:

InconsultationwiththeFRAitwasrecommendedthatthisnewroundofapplicationsincludethe

followingelements:

1. AnassessmentoftheoriginalARRAgrantscope,2. Neededrefinementsandrescopingtooptimizeuseofthe$3.312Bavailablefundingand

simultaneouslymeettheindependentutilitycriteria

3. DeterminationofpotentialadditionalscopethatwouldcomplementorenhancetheARRATrack2sectionscopeandhelpadvancetheCHSTP.


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SectionApplications:

The alignments are not prioritized in any manner, however as the Merced / Fresno and Fresno /

Bakersfield alignments have some commonality and overlap, they are addressed in sequence. In all

instancesatypicalalignmenthasbeenusedforcostingreasons;howeverthisshouldnotbeconstrued

as a preference for one alignment over another, but rather is needed for estimating costs. The

describedalignmentsarerepresentativeoftheoptionsbeingconsidered inprojectEIR/EISdocuments,

andarenottobeconstruedasprejudgingtheoutcomeofthoseenvironmentalprocesses..

A. MercedFresnoSection:

Figure1

1. OriginalARRAgrantscope(Figure1): RuralHSTcivilinfrastructureincludingtrackfromapprox.3milessouthofMercedto

approximately3milesnorthofFresnowithinterconnectiontotheexistingBNSFtrack,thus

allowingoperationfromtheAmtrakstationsinMercedtotheAmtrakstationinFresno.

AmtraksSanJoaquinservicewouldmeetoperationalutilityrequirement,butrequiressignaling.

2. Refinementsandrescoping ofARRAsectionneeded: Forthe$3.312BavailabletheAuthorityrecommendstoconstruct:

o AsinterconnectionwithBNSFisrequired,thebest(optimal)positiontodothisisnorthofMercedatCastleAFB.ThealignmentwillcontinuethroughMercedwestof

Chowchillafor39milestoRoad26/Ave18inMadera,wherethelinewillre

connecttotheBNSFexistingnetwork(Figure2).

o Asignalingsystemisrequiredandcouldbeaddedwithinthegivenbudget. AmtraksSanJoaquinservicemeetsFRAsfundingcriteriaandindependentutility

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Figure2

3. NewGrantApplication: Civilinfrastructureincludingtrackandsignaling,fromRoad26/Ave18inMadera,tobe

extendedasfarsouthaspossible(probablytoW.ClintonAve,justnorthofFresnobeing22

miles)connectingtotheexistingBNSFlinetofeedintotheexistingAmtrakstationinFresno.

ThustheARRAfundedplusNewfundedalignmentwouldbe61milesinlength(Figure3).

AmtraksSanJoaquinswouldofferindependentutilitycomingfromtheAmtrakstationin

MercedonthenewtrackpasttheWYE,totheAmtrakstationinFresno.

Figure3

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B. FresnoBakersfieldSection:

Figure4

1. OriginalARRAgrantscope: RuralHSTcivilinfrastructureincludingtrackfromBowles(8milessouthofFresno)to

HagemanRoadBNSFconnectionjustnorthofBakersfield,includingtheconnectionstothe

existingBNSFtackthusallowingoperationsfromAmtrakstationinFresnotoAmtrakstation

inBakersfield.

AmtraksSanJoaquinservicewouldmeetoperationalutilityrequirement,butrequiressignaling.

2. Refinementsandrescoping ofARRAsectionneeded: Forthe$3.312BavailabletheAuthorityrecommendstoconstruct(Figure5):

o CivilinfrastructureincludingtrackfromjustnorthofWasconorthwardsthroughFresnotoW.ClintonAvewhichisabout2milesnorthofFresno(approx100miles

ofcompletedalignment).

o ThenewHSRstationinFresno(includingtracksintoandoutofthestation).o Asignalingsystem(PTCorERTMS)asrequiredforindependentutility.o InterconnectorstotheBNSFlinesjustnorthofWascoandatW.ClintonAve,north

ofFresno,toensureindependentutility.

AmtraksSanJoaquinserviceoperatingonthislinewillmeetsFRAsfundingcriteriaandindependentutility

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Figure5

3. NewGrantApplication: Continuethecivilinfrastructureincludingnewtrackandsignalingnorthfor16.6miles

fromW.ClintonAvetoBorden,continuingafurther5.6milesontointersectionofRoad

26/Ave18(Figure6)

Civilinfrastructureincludingnewtrackandsignaling,fromnorthofWascoinasoutherlydirectiontoHagermanRoadjustnorthofBakersfield(Figure7).

InterconnectorstotheBNSFlinesatBordenandHagermanRoad.

In

the

interim

Amtrak

San

Joaquins

would

offer

independent

utility

coming

from

MercedontheexistingBNSFtracks,andconnectingtothenewalignmentat

intersectionRoad26/Ave18.ThustheARRAfundedplusNewfundedalignment

wouldbeapprox127milesinlengthandleadstoapracticalinterfacewiththeWYE

whichwould(aspartofPhase1)finallyconnectinawesterlydirectionwithSanJose.

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Figure6

Figure7

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C. LosAngelesAnaheimSection:

Figure8

1. OriginalARRAgrantscope: HSTcivilinfrastructureincludingtrackfromLAtoAnaheimbasedontheDedicatedTrack

Alternative(appliedfor $4.375B($YOE)forthesectionincluding $556Mforstations)

AmtrakSurflinerservicewouldmeetoperationalutilityrequirement,butrequiressignaling.

2. Refinementsandrescoping ofARRAsectionneeded: Thetotal$3.312BwillnotsufficetobuildthecompletesegmentasrequestedintheARRA

application.

Theredefinedscopewillfocusoninfrastructureimprovementscommontobothalternatives(DedicatedandSharedTrackAlternatives),totheextentpossible,and

particularlythosewiththebiggestneartermbenefitstointercitypassengerservice,andwill

stretchfromeastoftheLARivertoLaMirada,namely(Figure9):

o TwoadditionaltracksinLaMiradaandSantaFeSprings(Approx.OrangeCountyLinetoNorwalk/SFSstation)toprovideseparationbetweenpassengeroperationsandfreightoperationsinLaMiradaYardArea

o Rosecrans/MarquardtGradeSeparationAhighpriorityprojectthatimprovessafetyandisneededunderallscenarios

o SanGabrielRiverAreaaerialstructure/gradeseparation(Approx.LosNietosRdtoSerapisAve) Removestwoatgraderailrailcrossingsandthreeatgraderailroad

crossings.

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o Commerce/Vernonaerialstructure(Approx.I5toLARiver) RemovesallinteractionsbetweenfreightandpassengeroperatorsinHobartYardarea

o AstationatNorwalk(althoughFullertonremainsanoptionalsite). Asignaling/PTCsystemisrequiredandwillbeadded. Theaforementionedworkwouldcoverapproximately50%ofthealignmentworkwhich

wouldfinallyneedtobedoneonthiscorridor(excludingLosAngelesUnionStationand

ARTICStationandelectrification).Itwouldresultin2newtracksforHSandshared

passengerservice,inadditiontotheexistingBNSFfreight/sharedtacks.This2track

alignmentwillbeavailablefromjusteastoftheLARivertoLaMirada(about15miles).

ItshouldbepossibletomeettheoperationalutilitycriteriausingAmtrakSurflinerservicewiththecorrectphasedimplementationincludingsignaling.

Figure9

3. NewGrantApplication: ContinuewiththecivilinfrastructureandtrackworknotcompletedwiththeARRAfunding. TheNewfundsshouldallowallsuchcivilinfrastructureandtrackworkstobecompletedto

thewestsideoftheLARiver(includingRedondoFlyover)uptoandincludingFullerton.

(Figure10)bringingthetotalavailable2tracksystemtoabout28miles.

Theapplicationwillneedtobesplitintosharedtrackanddedicatedtrackalternatives,asthedesignsmaydifferforthisadditionalwork.

QuadgatesalongtheFullertontoAnaheimalignment.

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AmtrakSurflinerservicewouldmeetoperationalutilityrequirement,attheafterARRAandnewfundshavebeenallocated.

Figure10

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4. SanFranciscotoSanJose Section:

Figure11

1. OriginalARRAgrantscope(Figure11): Appliedfor$1.960B;mainlyforElectrification($740M),PTC&Communication($213M),

Stationimprovements($391M)andsomegradeseparations.

Caltrainwouldmeetoperationalutilityrequirement,howeveraccordingtotheFRAtheinfrastructuralimprovementsdonotmeetthefundingcriteriatoensureaminimal

operatingsegmentofneworsubstantiallyimprovedhighspeedorintercitypassengerrail

service.

2. RefinementsandrescopingofARRAsectionneeded: Thetotal$3.312Bwillnotsufficetobuildthecompletesegment.Programdevelopments

havefurtherincreasedthecostsofcertainalternativeswhichremainapplicable.

Theredefinedscopewillfocusoninfrastructureimprovementsandgradeseparationworkstartingatthe4th&KingStationworkingsouth,todefineworkelementshavingnearterm

operationalbenefits

to

existing

rail

passenger

train

service

on

the

Peninsula

and

meeting

thelongtermneedsoftheCHSTProgram(usingthebuildingblockapproach)

Infrastructureand4tracksfrom4th&KingStationmovingsouthtoRedwoodJunctioncouldbeachieved,basedonthelessexpensiveAerialStructure(asopposedtotheTrenchsolution

insomeareassuchasBurlingame,SanMateo)*1(Figure11).

Existing2trackswillbesharedinsectionssouthofRedwoodJunctiontoMountainView.1Ifthetrenchsolutionisselectedthenlessinfrastructurecouldbeimplemented.

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Infrastructureand4tracksfromMountainViewsouthtonorthofFairOaksAvenue,SantaClara,basedonthelessexpensiveAerialStructure(asopposedtotheTrenchsolutionin

someareassuchasMountainViewandSunnyvale)leadingintotheexistingCaltrainsystem

andintoDiridonStation

IncludenewPTC(possiblyCBOSSorERTMS)toenhancesafetyandtoallowforthevastamountoftrafficdiversionswhichwillberequiredduringconstruction,andthe2015

installationdeadline.

FinalcutovermustmeetIndependentutilitycriteria.

Figure12

3. NewGrantApplication: Electrificationofthealignment,dimensionedforCaltrainandHSTwhereby2tracksonlywill

beelectrifiedinthisphase.

ConstructionoftheMillbraestationandintegratingthereof. ThecurrentestimatedcostofthisSection(particularlytrenchalternatives)exceedsthe

amountofpotentialfunding,andthusthissectioncouldnotbecompletedwiththefunds

available.

ItisnotconfirmedthattheoperationalutilitycriteriausingtheexistingCaltrainserviceincludingnewsignalingwillmeettheFRArequirements,astheserviceisnotdeemedtobe

onanIntercitynature,howeverthiswillagainbesubmittedastheavailablesolution.

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GeneralComments:

ThefollowinggeneralcommentsareimportantfortheCommitteetofinallyapprovethewayforward:

Firstindicationsfromcalculationsdoneshowthat,toachieveattractivecutoverpointsandtomeettheindependentutilityrequirements,theAuthoritywouldneedadditionalnewfunding

(overandabovetheARRAfunds)inthemagnitudeof$1Bto$1.4B.

To preserve matching capacity for the future (the FRA will most likely always require at least20% matching) it is recommended to match with only 30% Prop 1 Bond proceeds for this

secondround.

Thus

the

new

funding

request

would

be

for

between

$700M

to

$1B.

Completing the EIR/EIS and achieving ROD/NOD for the sections proposed is paramount forCaliforniatoobtainnotonlytheARRAfunds,buyalsothenew2010HSIPRfunds.

Recommendation:

StaffrequeststheExecutiveandAdministrativeCommitteeapprovetherecommendedapproachtaken

bystafftoapplyfortheproposedFY10HSIPRadditionalfundingandthattheCommitteeapprovethat

staffdoallfurtherdetailedworktomeetthesubmittaldeadlineofAugust6,2010.

Attachment:

http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/PubAffairs/201015992.pdf
http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/PubAffairs/2010-15992.pdfhttp://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/PubAffairs/2010-15992.pdfhttp://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/PubAffairs/2010-15992.pdfhttp://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/PubAffairs/2010-15992.pdfhttp://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/PubAffairs/2010-15992.pdf

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