Track the Bay Area’s rail future at a public meeting on the Draft Regional Rail Plan
After 18 months of analysis and stakeholder involvement, a draft regional rail plan for expanding the region’s network of rail lines has been completed.
The Draft Regional Rail Plan was made to identify potential rail passenger and rail freight improvements for the near-, intermediate-, and long-term and the economics of different scenarios.
Come to one of a series public meetings (listed below) where you can:
* See and comment on what’s proposed to move people and freight throughout the region in the coming 50 years
* Learn how the regional rail network would be enhanced with proposed California high-speed rail investments (and view alternatives for bringing high-speed rail into the Bay Area)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 in Oakland
MTC
Joseph P Bort MetroCenter
Lawrence D. Dahms Auditorium
101 Eighth Street, Oakland
Session 1: 3 - 5 PM
Session 2: 6 - 8 PM
each session is identical, just held at different times. The format is an open house the first 1/2 hour followed by presentation/discussion.
Thursday, August 16 in San Jose
Santa Clara County Bldg
Senter Auditorium Session 1: 3 - 5 PM
Session 2: 6 - 8 PM
Monday, August 20 in Suisun City
Suisun City Hall Council Chambers
701 Civic Center Blvd., Suisun City Session 1: 3 - 5 PM
Session 2: 6 - 8 PM
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 in Livermore
Livermore Public Library
Community Rooms A & B
1188 S. Livermore Ave., Livermore
Session 1: 3 - 5 PM
Session 2: 6 - 8 PM
Monday, August 27, 2007 in San Carlos CCAG offices San Mateo County
1250 San Carlos Ave, 2nd floor Auditorium
San Carlos
3:30 PM - 5 PM one session only at this location
HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam will build a high-speed railway with aid
from Japan at an estimated cost of $33 billion, a project that would
cut travel time by two-thirds between Hanoi in the north and southern
Ho Chi Minh City, the government said.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung gave approval to state-run Vietnam
Railways to invest in the 1,630-km (1,010 miles) track, a statement on
the government's Web site (http://www.vietnam.gov.vn) late on Monday
said.
Dung has assigned the unlisted railways firm to work with Japanese
experts on a detailed investment plan, the statement said.
Seventy percent of funding will come from the government, mainly in
the form of Japanese official development assistance, and Vietnam
Railways will raise 30 percent of the cost from loans, Nguyen Huu
Bang, director of the state firm said.
The train service monopoly does not release profit figures but its
revenues in 2006 rose 13.2 percent from the previous year to 5.3
trillion dong ($330 million), the Vietnam News reported on Tuesday.
Japan is the single biggest country donor to Vietnam. It has pledged
$890 million in aid for the country this year, or 6.5 percent higher
than the 2006 level of $835.6 million.
International governments and agencies have pledged a record $4.45
billion in aid to communist-run Vietnam for this year as the Southeast
Asian country seeks to improve its under-developed infrastructure.
The track, to be built over a six-year period with a wider gauge of
1,435 mm, will reduce the train journey between the capital Hanoi and
the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City to less than 10 hours from more
than 30 hours.
It will enable train speeds of 300 km to 350 km (186-217 miles) per
hour, state-run media said.
The country's north-south trains now travel between the two cities on
a single track with the narrow gauge of 1,000 mm over 1,726 km (1,070
miles).
[BATN: See also:
Schwarzenegger orchestrating a slow death for high-speed rail
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33603
Planned Europe-Africa rail link underlines US shortcomings
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33569
Letter: Schwarzenegger wrong to kill high-speed rail
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33548
Schwarzenegger budget would starve high-speed rail to death
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33528
California high-speed rail needs funds to get underway
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33497
Visalia officials seek stop on imperiled high-speed rail line
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33495
Schwarzenegger may kill high-speed rail to widen roads, warm planet
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33437
Comment: Schwarzenegger ignores transit-enviroment link
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33437
Schwarzenegger: high-speed rail not a priority
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33281
Schwarzenegger may postpone high-speed rail indefinitely
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33280
Europeans remain serious about HSR, while US is all talk
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33279
US rail infrastructure likened to that of a 3rd-World country
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/33053 ]
- Locate a library in Fremont, Gilroy, Livermore, Merced, Modesto, Mountain View, Oakland, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Stockton, or Tracy that has a hard copy of the Draft Program EIR/EIS
Questions?
- call the California High-Speed Rail Authority at (916) 324-1541
Oppose cuts to public transit and high-speed rail!
Please call the Governor and your state legislators!
As of Friday's Assembly version of the budget, the California HSRA is still funded at the unacceptably low level of $15.5 million (not enough for the Authority to do its work and keep the project on track). Also, the overall transit budget was cut by $1 Billion!!!
Why High-Speed Rail ?
Without high-speed rail , nearly twice as much money will be needed to expand freeways and airport runways to meet the same level of travel demand. And expanding auto and air travel to that extent would cause untold environmental harm.
HSR keeps California moving and powers the economy.
Clean, electric HSR trains, by replacing polluting automobiles and airplanes, pave the way for huge greenhouse gas emission reductions.
If the CAHSRA is not funded at its request of $55 million, necessary preliminary work will not occur and delays and future costs for the project will increase.
Why oppose the transit funding cuts?
The governor's budget engages in sleight of hand, reclassifying other expenses (for example, school busing, always considered an Education expense in the past) as transit, but actually massively cutting funds for real and important transit projects.
Transit cuts are a false economy: not only does defunding these projects cause environmental damage, but it also hurts the state's economy. Land values and quality of life suffer in the absence of well-designed transit networks, and as congestion gets worse, more time in the day is wasted commuting (an economic black hole). Transit projects also create jobs and stimulate local economies.
Step 1
Call Governor Schwarzenegger at 916-445-4341 is the number for the Legislative Unit, ask for Chris Kahn or Dan Dunmoyer or David Crane
Talking points: I'm asking Governor Schwarzenegger to fully fund high-speed rail and get the environmental and engineering studies completed so that it can be built, and to also fully fund public transit. [Tell him why you care about HSR and public transit -- such as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide mobility, create jobs or another reason. more talking points]
**Please note, a number of callers have reported that the Governor's office is telling callers that the Governor's proposal would give transit more money than ever. The Governor is actually counting the transit funds that would be redirected to General Fund programs as transit and calling it more funding!
Some potential responses are:
--Paying for previous General Fund programs with legally dedicated transit funds does not count as more funding for public transit.
--Replacing dedicated transit funds with voter-approved bond dollars goes against the will of the voters and won't create needed new transit options.
Step 2
Call Senator Don Perata at 510-286-1333 or 916-651-4009.
Talking points: I'm asking Senator Perata support full funding for high-speed rail and public transit. [Tell them why you care about HSR and public transit in your own words.] NOTE: The Senator's staffer may tell you that you should call the Governor. You can say that you already did, but that you want to be sure that Senator Perata strongly supports full funding for high-speed rail and public transit.
NOTE:
The staffer may tell you that you should call the Governor. You can say that you already did, but that you want to be sure that Senator Perata supports full funding for high-speed rail, for public transit and a long-term solution for funding public transit in the final budget deal.
Step 3
Please also get your friends and family in the Los Angeles/Orange County area to contact:
