California State Rail Plan 2007-08 to 2017-18

Chapter X – Potential New ServicesHIGH-SPEED RAILBACKGROUNDHigh-speed rail has been studied in California for over a decade.The Department participated in a number of studies in the late 1980s and early1990s. The Department was a member of the Los Angeles-Fresno-Bay Area/Sacramento High-Speed Rail Corridor Study Group. The group published itsreport in 1990 as required by Chapter 197, Statutes of 1988 (AB 971 - Costa).Under Chapter 1104, Statutes of 1990 (SB 1307 - Garamendi), the Department in1991, completed a work plan for a feasibility study for the development of anintegrated public, private, or combined public/private high-speed intercity andcommuter rail system. Under Proposition 116, the Department completeda preliminary engineering and feasibility study on high-speed service betweenBakersfield and Los Angeles.Senate Concurrent Resolution 6 (1993) established the California IntercityHigh-Speed Rail Commission. This Commission, while using some Departmentstaff resources, was not part of the Department. The Final Report of theCommission was sent to the Legislature at the end of 1996 and indicated that highspeedrail is technically, environmentally, and economically feasible, and onceconstructed, could be operationally self-sufficient. The Commissionrecommended a San Francisco/San Jose/Sacramento-Central Valley-Los Angeles-San Diego alignment. The commission also recommended using either steelwheel-on-steel-railhigh-speed technology or magnetic levitation (maglev).CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITYThe California High-Speed Rail Act, enacted by Chapter 796, Statutes of 1996(SB 1420 - Kopp and Costa), established the California High-Speed Rail Authority(CHSRA) to direct the development and implementation of intercity high-speedrail service. The act defined high-speed rail as "intercity passenger rail servicethat utilizes an alignment and technology that make it capable of sustained speedsof 200 miles per hour or greater."Chapter 791, Statutes of 2000 (AB 1703 - Florez), modified the CHSRA’sexclusive authorization and responsibility for planning, construction, andoperation of high-speed passenger train service to cover speeds exceeding125 miles per hour. Previously, the CHSRA had such authorization andresponsibility for speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. AB 1703 also extendedthe tenure of the CHSRA through 2003. Then Chapter 696, Statues of 2002(SB 796 - Costa) repealed the sunset date for the CHSRA, making it a permanentauthority. The CHSRA is composed of nine members. The Governor appointsfive members, the Senate Committee on Rules appoints two members, and theSpeaker of the Assembly appoints two members.175