Conceptual view of the high-speed rail running along BNSF lines through central California. Credit: NC3D

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is applying for more than half of the $8 billion in federal stimulus money set aside specifically for high-speed rail projects across the country.

Included in its seven grant proposals totaling $4.5 billion is roughly $820 million for the segment between Bakersfield and Fresno – part of the backbone of the Anaheim to San Francisco line which the Authority hopes to have fully functional by 2020.

The Authority’s board will vote Wednesday, Sept. 23, on the grant proposals and, if passed, will forward the applications on to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to officially submit by the Oct. 2 deadline.

California High-Speed Rail officials believe California is a leading competitor for the federal grants because they have been working on the project’s plans for 10 years and have matching funds approved by voters in the form of Proposition 1A in November 2008.

“We think we are the most competitive of all of the states because we have done a great deal of work in addition to having $9 billion of our own money in it,” said Mehdi Morshed, CHSRA’s executive director, in a teleconference announcing the grant proposals on Monday, Sept. 21.

Three of the proposals are for the preliminary engineering and environmental studies required for all of the segments connecting the Anaheim to San Francisco line for phase one ($194 million), as well as the environmental studies for the phase two segments connecting the line to Sacramento and San Diego ($60 million), and the environmental studies for adding a corridor over the Altamont Pass between San Joaquin and Alameda counties ($22.5 million).

The other four grant proposals are for the design and construction of three key segments of the Anaheim-San Francisco Line:

• Anaheim to Los Angeles ($2 billion)
• San Jose to San Francisco ($1.28 billion)
• Bakersfield to Fresno ($819.5 million) and Fresno to Merced ($466 million)

CHSR split the Bakersfield to Merced segment into two sections for easier manageability, said CHSR spokeswoman Kris Deutschman. Regardless if one or the other receives a federal grant, both sections are a priority.

“The Authority has already embarked on the environmental reviews for them,” she said. “(The federal grant) is just a bonus. It would help kick-start the project.”

CHSRA’s grant proposals call for construction to begin in September 2012 and end in September 2017.

Not only is the Central Valley portion the “backbone” of the Anaheim-San Francisco line, it will also provide the straightest shot to test the trains at the top speed of about 220 miles per hour, according to Tom Tracy, the regional manager for the Fresno to Palmdale section of the high-speed rail.

But even with the federal grant money, the three segments would still not be completely funded. The proposals include the construction but not the “electrification” – the wiring, controls, communications and safety systems that would make the trains actually run.

CHSRA officials hope more federal programs, as well as state and local funding sources, can be tapped for full completion of the project. But to adhere to the stimulus grant requirements, they did come up with a plan if the project is delayed or does not move forward past construction. In the case of the 148-mile segment between Bakersfield and Merced, the Authority is proposing that Amtrak could use the track.

Although there will be a lot of competitors for the high-speed rail grants, CHSRA officials believe California is far ahead of the game because it has already done so much planning and secured funding from the Prop. 1A bond measure.

According to “Fast Lane,” the Department of Transportation’s blog, the pre-applications due earlier this summer drew 278 proposals from 40 states seeking a total $102 billion. With only $8 billion available and California seeking more than half of it, CHSRA is keeping its hopes high.

“We’ve heard statements from the President on down that California is way ahead of everybody and obviously we are very happy about it,” said executive director Morshed during the teleconference.

For details of the grant proposals, download the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s memorandum.

Map courtesy of California High-Speed Rail Authority.