Washington, DC -- U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today hailed the U.S. Department of Transportation’s announcement that California will receive an additional $902 million in federal funding for high-speed and inter-city rail projects in California.

“I have just spoken with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who indicated to me that California will be receiving $902 million as a step toward building a high-speed rail system,” Senator Feinstein said.

“He told me, ‘The money is going to go to areas where the projects are ready to go, and California is ready to go.’ He went on to say that we have a very hard-working and dedicated team working on high-speed rail in California, and I second that.

“High-speed rail has been a dream of mine for many years, and it is becoming a reality. It will help California compete in the 21st century while reducing greenhouse gases, curbing congestion and reducing our dependence on oil. On top of that, this project will create tens of thousands of jobs and provide a real boost to commerce.”

The $902 million will be used to advance the design and construction of the system.

California voters in 2008 approved nearly $10 billion for high-speed rail linking Northern and Southern California.

In January, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that California had been selected to receive $2.25 billion in stimulus funding, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to help develop a high-speed rail system in the state.

The $2.25 billion will be spent on work in high-speed rail corridors linking San Francisco to San Jose, Los Angeles to Anaheim, Fresno to Bakersfield, and Merced to Fresno.

Tens of thousands of jobs associated with this project are anticipated, with major work beginning by 2011, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the $902 million will be spent on the following projects:

• Central Valley high-speed rail:  Fresno?Bakersfield or Merced?Fresno: $715,000,000;
• Statewide rolling stock acquisition: $100,000,000;
• San Francisco- San Jose high-speed rail: $16,000,000;
• San Diego: preliminary engineering and permitting for double track: $10,000,000;
• Del Mar: preliminary engineering and permitting for second track, bridge, signal improvements:  $ 7,000,000;
• Oceanside:  preliminary engineering and permitting for bridge replacement with double track: $ 4,000,000;
• Pacific Surfliner: preliminary engineering and permitting for double track, curve realignments: $4,000,000;
• Raymer-Bernson: preliminary engineering and permitting for double track, grade crossings, new bridges, new platform: $1,564,000;
• Seacliff: preliminary engineering and permitting for track realignment, siding extension: $950,000;
• Van Nuys Boulevard: preliminary engineering and permitting for bridge widening, new platform, system improvements: $800,000;
• Pacific Surfliner: preliminary engineering and permitting for double track $400,000;
• San Onofre?San Diego positive train control anti-collision  implementation: $24,900,000;
• Moorpark –San Onofre signal and communication system improvements: $13,500,000;
• California State Rail Plan:  $1,500,000;
• Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo Corridor Plan: $1,360,000;
• Los Angeles-San Francisco Corridor Plan:  $300,000; and
• Bakersfield-Oakland?Sacramento Corridor Plan:  $300,000.

Plans ultimately call for an 800-mile high-speed rail system, with trains capable of traveling at 220 mph, to be developed in two phases:

• Phase I: 520-mile system connecting Anaheim and Los Angeles, through the Central Valley and on to San Francisco, by 2020.
  
• Phase II: Extension of the system north to Sacramento and south to San Diego by 2026.

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