Public input sought for future of passenger rail service

Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) hosted a virtual workshop July 15 to gain input from the community on their sponsored project, Link21. According to Jake McMurtry, transportation planner with HNTB, Link21 is a program that is aiming to transform the passenger rail network to bring a faster and more integrated rail system to the 21 counties that make up the Northern California Megaregion (from Sacramento, including Placer County, to the Central Valley and down to Monterey). McMurtry said benefits of the program for Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties could include direct trips to and from the Bay Area by comfortable commuter train, increase potential of economic development near rail stations, provide sustainable, zero-emission transportation that improves air quality and better connections between university hubs, airports and recreation. "Our existing transportation network … is not able to meet the needs of our 21-county megaregion," said Jeff Morales, managing principal with InfraStrategies. "Our transportation network lacks frequent, fast and reliable service throughout." Morales said this program is needed due to: Inconvenient disconnected passenger rail service and limited routes. Unreliable travel times. Crowded BART trains. Persistent traffic congestion. Inequitable access to opportunities. Climate- and health-damaging air pollution. "The lack of reliable transportation options will hinder opportunities and reduce our quality of life, especially as our region works to rebound from the pandemic," Morales said. One aspect of the project includes a new transbay rail crossing between Oakland and San Francisco. According to Morales, the new transbay could benefit the entire megaregion by providing less congestion, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and improving transit connectivity and accessibility. Another aspect would be to advance equity to service underserved communities. "One of our equity goals is to make sure that we are benefitting groups that have been systematically marginalized," Morales said. "This means benefitting groups like transit dependent riders, those harmed by past transportation projects and those with limited access to important resources like housing or job opportunities. As part of this program, we're working to identify these communities as priority populations to make sure that we understand how the program will work and prioritize benefits to these communities." Chester Fung, transportation planner with HNTB, said the thought is Link21 will be able to assist with allowing Northern California passenger rail services such as Capitol Corridor, BART and the Altamont Commuter Express to work as one system. Morales added, "The Link21 program is likely to be wide ranging and may include many new rail services and infrastructure in the Bay Area and beyond, potentially to Sacramento and the Central Valley and to places in the megaregion currently without rail service." Morales also noted the other service aspirations of the program include frequent trains to provide shorter wait time and better transfers, longer hours to include nights and weekends, convenience with more destinations and better connections and resilience to quickly bounce back from service disruptions. Fung provided the timeline for the program: Phase 0 (2019-21): Developing an initial set of possibilities for Link21. Phase 1 (2022-23): Studying the concepts to see how well they meet the needs of the megaregion and select a program that best fits those needs. Phase 2 (2024-28): Defining projects in more detail and performing required environmental review. Phase 3 (2029-40): Designing and constructing priority projects to be ready for service. Comments and questions are being accepted for the Link21 program until the end of July. Residents can get involved by taking a survey at Link21Program.org/survey to provide input on what matters most for their travel needs. More information about the program can be found at Link21Program.org.