Funding almost secured for Caltrain rail electrification project in California

On May 22, the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has intention to sign a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project (PCEP).

The PCEP plans to electrify 51 miles of the existing Caltrain tracks between the San Francisco and San Jose corridor. It is expected to increase service up to six Caltrain trains per peak hour for every destination.

Senator Kemala Harris, a member of the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, said: “The Caltrain project is a great example of federal, state and local partners working together to upgrade critical infrastructure. This project will create thousands of jobs, improve our state’s economy and increase quality of life for Californians. Secretary Chao has done the right thing and committed the federal government to fulfill its obligation to see this project through completion.”

More than 9,600 jobs could be created for the project realization.

Around $73M in Federal core Capacity funding have already been granted for the PCEP project in prior years. Congress also appropriated $100M FFGA for first year 2017. In addition, the FFGA agreement will commit the department of Transportation to prioritize an additional $408 million in future appropriations through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Program.
The coming agreement by the Federal Transit Administration would contribute to make over 25% of Caltrain’s total $647M federal funding request immediately available to commence the project construction.