Article last updated:
Sunday, April 29, 2001 2:44 AM MST
Bullet train may stop in Tri-city area
By Sean R. Cabibi
STAFF WRITER
FREMONT -- If the bullet train makes its way through California, it
won't whiz past Fremont, Union City and Newark. It would stop in one
of the three cities.
"We're looking at three potential locations that could be a stop for
the bullet train in the area," said Dan Leavitt, deputy director for
the High Speed Rail Authority's Bay Area to Merced alignment group.
"It's an important area to the plan."
The Fremont BART station, the intermodal transfer station to be build
near Union City BART and a one of several potential stations along the
Mulford line through Newark are being examined.
"Existing rail corridors are the best options. We ideally would like
an easy connection with BART, but we are very limited when we get into
the urban areas of the East Bay," Leavitt said.
The Mulford line, a Union Pacific line located west of Cherry Street,
is considered the shortest, fastest and least expensive route that
would take passengers through the Fremont, Union City and Newark area
and continue north into Oakland. A stop in Newark would be along that
line, Leavitt said.
Routing the train through Niles Canyon along the Union Pacific
right-of-way is a viable option but requires the train to travel
slower than the desired speed.
Leavitt emphasized current plans are very preliminary. He said the
train's final routes and stops through the East Bay could change
drastically after environmental reviews are completed.
"We're looking at all options right now," Leavitt said.
Many, if not most of the trains, would be express trains stopping only
in major cities, connecting Northern and Southern California. But the
system also would include regional routes, one of which would include
Fremont, Union City or Newark, Leavitt said.
The bullet train is a $25 million project featuring an electrically
propelled high-speed train that would reach speeds of up to 220 miles
per hour, the fastest in the world, according to the rail authority.
Estimated travel times will compete with some of the fastest forms of
transportation available, Leavitt said.
Shorter travel times
A trip from San Diego to San Jose on the express train is estimated to
take three hours. A trip from Fresno to San Jose, normally a
three-hour drive, would take 46 minutes.
The rail authority currently is in the environmental study phase for
three of the sections, including the Bay Area to Merced portion, and
is working on starting environmental studies on the last two sections,
both in Southern California. All studies should be completed in two
years, Leavitt said.
Nothing too soon
It is estimated the project could be completed by 2016.
Majority of the funding to build the system would come from a 1/4-cent
sales tax increase covering more than $18 million. The rest would come
from other various sources.
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Sean R. Cabibi covers transportation and environment for The Argus. He
can be reached at (510) 353-7014 or at[38] scabibi@angnewspapers.com.
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