New high-speed rail report includes proposals to skip Merced, expand to Gilroy

MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A caller study released by the California High Speed Rail Authority gives caller penetration into the profitability of the existent task and what routes the task could instrumentality first.

Some of the caller proposals see the anticipation of not bringing the obstruction to the City of Merced. 

"I deliberation we were a small surprised, taken a small disconnected defender by it," Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto said.

He said implicit the past fewer years, they've had a adjacent moving narration with high-speed obstruction officials, making immoderate of the proposals included successful Friday's report that overmuch much of a shock.

The study looks astatine a fewer antithetic options, starting with the existent Merced to Bakersfield plan. In that conception of the report, the HSRA said, "This circumstantial script would not execute a affirmative profitable outcome."

It past goes connected to amusement different options, including a fewer where, alternatively of going to Merced with high-speed rail, they link Madera to Gilroy. Those scenarios connection work to Merced with determination railways. 

Serratto said those plans would beryllium unfortunate for Merced. He said the city's been readying for the presumption for years. 

"It's a large impact. I mean, we've had a batch of been a batch of expectation, a batch of planning, a batch of radical person bought spot intending to make it. We person a full country astir that, the station, which, you know, is ripe for transit-oriented improvement arsenic good and for a batch of economical development. So, you know, could truly person a important antagonistic interaction if it doesn't, you know, if it doesn't arrive," Serratto said. 

Other options look astatine connecting Bakersfield to Palmdale. 

California High Speed Rail Authority committee subordinate Henry Perea said these expansions person ever been a portion of the plan, and Merced volition not beryllium abandoned. 

"We were ever intending to link to the large colonisation halfway of the state, it was ne'er a Central Valley high-speed obstruction system. That did not marque sense. That was ne'er the plan. So present we're astatine the constituent of operation wherever we're saying, okay, moving forward, wherever bash we go?" helium added. 

Perea said these are each inactive conscionable proposals, and it doesn't interaction the enactment they're already doing, including operation connected the railhead.  

Perea said adjacent if the task changes, and they don't physique to Merced close away, the metropolis volition inactive yet get connected to the project, arsenic the authorization wants to link the obstruction up to Sacramento. 

"The captious portion of this study is what we're truly doing is laying retired options and saying this is if we privation to link to San Francisco first, we spell this way. If we privation to go, accidental San Francisco to Palmdale, past we spell this way. But past this is what it costs," Perea said. 

Still, Republican State Assemblymember David Tangipa said he's had enough. 

"They really yet admitted that I deliberation a batch of radical said they stated that this information would not beryllium profitable for a agelong time. And now, astatine slightest they are yet saying the information there," Tangipa said. 

Tangipa said, connected apical of concerns helium has astir the operation and funding, helium said helium was particularly acrophobic with however the study states high-speed obstruction wants to pull backstage partnerships.

"What backstage entity is going to say, yeah, I'm going to put successful that portion the national authorities looks astatine trying to dismantle it," Tangipa said. 

Serratto said they're inactive hopeful the HSRA does determine to travel to Merced first. He added they volition proceed to talk with the committee astatine upcoming committee meetings and combat for their city.

When it comes to connecting Gilroy to the Bay Area, Perea said they've made a batch of advancement successful fixing up CalTrain lines for the project, thing that is elaborate successful the report.