In previous posts in this series, we discussed Metrolink’s imminent budget crisis and its struggles to maintain and expand service and ridership. These are exacerbated by its inability to deliver capital improvements, from basic maintenance to ambitious modernization programs like electrification. Given the size and age of the network, there Read more…
New whitepaper outlines how to transform Southern California rail through electrification, level boarding, and through-running. Southern California is a megaregion, with jobs, homes, and destinations spread across an area as large as some countries. Population has grown fastest far from city centers, leading to worsening traffic and the US’s dirtiest Read more…
Californians for Electric Rail has previously written about errors in the California Air Resources Board (CARB)’s public-facing materials and reports. Our latest whitepaper points out shortcomings in CARB’s 2020 Trucks vs Trains Analysis. CARB’s main “Trucks vs. Trains” figure edited to include data they calculated, but excluded from the report: Read more…
On September 27, 2024 Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2503, which exempts electric rail projects within existing rights-of-way for passenger service from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Based on the experience of years of delay via CEQA lawsuit Caltrain experienced and the aborted attempts by other agencies Read more…
Last time, we got an overview of how the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), can affect rail projects in general. In this entry in the series on how CEQA holds back clean, transformative electric rail, we’ll do a deep dive into how CEQA litigation caused serious delays to Caltrain electrification, Read more…
California needs significant reductions in transportation-related emissions to meet its climate targets. Those reductions need to come from both the vehicles themselves as well as mode shift – reducing the number of Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT). Rail electrification is a policy that accomplishes both goals: it converts diesel-spewing trips to Read more…