TRAC
TRAC Ideas Exposed in the Bee
09/29/14 Filed in: High-Speed
Rail |
Transportation
Planning
The Train Riders
Association of California, TRAC, got the opportunity
to put its ideas out in the State Capital’s leading
newspaper, the Sacramento Bee. Hopefully, it will
strike a chord with political leaders. Here’s the
link to the Viewpoint article.
TRAC Opposes Palmdale Focus
09/04/14 Filed in: High-Speed
Rail |
Transportation
Planning
The TRAC Board of
Directors adopted a Resolution opposing the
California High-Speed Rail Authority’s new-found
interest in the Palmdale to Burbank route. Instead,
the Resolution proposes that the funding available
for HSR be used to create benefits for passengers in
the near-term. Read More...
TRAC Issues Plan B
02/24/14 Filed in: High-Speed
Rail
The Train Riders
Association of California has issued its Plan B, what
to do when the HSRA’s project craters. The Plan
strategically attempts to use the $2.4 billion in
federal ARRA funds before they expire in 2017. This
Plan B differs from TRANSDEF’s Plan
B, which
proposed a wholesale revision of Proposition 1A
and a repurposing of the entire $6 billion dollars
appropriated for the Central Valley project. That
plan has much greater uncertainties, because it
would require a return to the voters. The time
involved in doing that, given the very short
timelines for construction, favors taking a more
strategic approach. Hence, TRAC’s Plan B:
TRAC Proposes Plan B for HSR
11/27/13 Filed in: High-Speed
Rail
In the wake of the
collapse of the Central Valley project, the Train
Riders Association of California has issued its Plan
B for High-Speed Rail:
1. The Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) strongly supports a modern High-Speed Rail (HSR) system for California. HSR will be critical in providing interregional mobility to a growing population at a lower environmental impact than widening highways and adding runways. Successful HSR should greatly benefit the economy.
2. Even if the currently proposed $6 billion Merced-Bakersfield project were successfully completed, no funding is available to build the rest of the HSR system. This would leave this very expensive track unused and unusable, except perhaps by Amtrak to save a few minutes on the San Joaquins.
3. Funding is a problem because the California High Speed Rail Authority's plans are not attractive to private investors. The Authority hopes that $26 billion of federal grants will lead to private investment, but the Sacramento Superior Court ruling found that “there is, in reality, no reasonably anticipated time of receipt for any of the potential new federal funds."
4. TRAC is grateful for the Sacramento Superior Court's ruling that the Authority's project does not meet the taxpayer protection requirements of the 2008 voter-approved HSR bond measure, Proposition 1A. Preventing the current project from spending bond funds illegally will preserve the potential for successful HSR in California.
Read More...
1. The Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) strongly supports a modern High-Speed Rail (HSR) system for California. HSR will be critical in providing interregional mobility to a growing population at a lower environmental impact than widening highways and adding runways. Successful HSR should greatly benefit the economy.
2. Even if the currently proposed $6 billion Merced-Bakersfield project were successfully completed, no funding is available to build the rest of the HSR system. This would leave this very expensive track unused and unusable, except perhaps by Amtrak to save a few minutes on the San Joaquins.
3. Funding is a problem because the California High Speed Rail Authority's plans are not attractive to private investors. The Authority hopes that $26 billion of federal grants will lead to private investment, but the Sacramento Superior Court ruling found that “there is, in reality, no reasonably anticipated time of receipt for any of the potential new federal funds."
4. TRAC is grateful for the Sacramento Superior Court's ruling that the Authority's project does not meet the taxpayer protection requirements of the 2008 voter-approved HSR bond measure, Proposition 1A. Preventing the current project from spending bond funds illegally will preserve the potential for successful HSR in California.
Read More...
TRANSDEF Presents at Annual TRAC Meeting
10/27/12 Filed in: High-Speed
Rail
The 2012 Annual
Conference of the Trainriders Association of
California was held in Berkeley today. TRANSDEF was
invited to co-present the keynote address, along with
the Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design
(CARRD) on the topic of Where is High-Speed Rail
Going in the Near Term? Elizabeth Alexis of CARRD
began with a presentation which laid out the complete
picture of what is funded to proceed in the next
few years. David Schonbrunn of TRANSDEF then
delivered an explanation of why rail advocates are
suing CHSRA, entitled Fighting for What Could
Be. Read
More...