Californians for Electric Rail envisions a California where communities around the state have access to fast, frequent, reliable and clean regional and intercity rail service. To deliver on that vision we need more investment but we also need to get better at building the necessary electrification and other infrastructure. In California, transit infrastructure construction costs are far higher than in other countries with extensive electric rail, such as Spain, Italy, and Turkey, making policymakers afraid of infrastructure-intensive investments like catenary. If we want to rapidly build out an electrified statewide network, we need to bring costs down.
Based on a large body of research, low and medium cost countries have a few consistent features: 1) public sector capacity; 2) service-led planning; 3) standard designs; 4) preemptive or ministerial permitting; 5) a procurement process that focuses on maximizing competition and properly allocating risk.
This past year Assemblymember Buffy Wicks has led the Select Committee on Permitting Reform. Transit and rail permitting issues were highlighted at the November 13, 2024 select committee hearing and tour in Los Angeles. Chair Wicks commented at the hearing: "we could have a whole select committee on transit project delivery." We agree.
With that in mind we have provided the Select Committee on Permitting Reform with the following comment letter outlining steps California can take, including permitting reform, to improve transit and rail project delivery. Our letter recommends the following reforms:
- State/regional capacity: invest in operational staffing to plan, develop, procure, and manage project delivery at the state and regional level.
- Network Planning: require Regional Transportation Plans to conform with service-led and network planning principles and conform state funding sources to service and network planning on a programmatic (rather than project) basis.
- Project development: fund program and project development while refraining from committing early to capital budgets while scope, schedule, budget and risks are still being identified. Complete environmental review later in the process.
- Project selection: require projects that conform to Regional Transportation Plans and the State Rail Plans be funded based on business cases and ability to deliver quantifiable service goals.
- Environmental Review: amend CEQA to provide deference to transit and rail agencies if they determine that alternatives or mitigations would significantly reduce operability and financial feasibility.
- Design: invest in operator design standards and preempt local design standards for certain operators that meet CalSTA standards for accessibility, connectivity and cost effectiveness.
- Procurement: provide operators with procurement and construction management support so they can create wider bidding pools for smaller contracts; amend procurement law to allow for more technical scoring and itemized prices in Design-Bid-Build procurements.
- Asset mapping: prioritize digital mapping of underground assets through mandates or coordination between utilities.
- Permit streamlining for 3rd parties: provide master permitting or ministerial approval processes for local governments evaluating construction permits; require utilities to relocate utilities in conflict with transit or rail projects within one year or award possession to operators to self-perform the work.