California:

At the Forefront of High-Speed and Regional Rail

30 years of Steady Growth

Since 1990, California has invested heavily in passenger rail and transit networks. Now, it is possible to travel most of the state without a car.

High-speed rail will make it 10 times better.

The Issues

California’s regional rail routes, combined with an extensive feeder bus network, offer a model for other states. Multiple agencies are driving innovation in service delivery. The best state rail plan in the nation is tying it all together.

And, by cutting new tunnels through the mountains, high-speed rail will offer the speed and frequency needed to overcome California’s entrenched car culture.

The Obstacles

A federally-led Interstate Railway Program, structured like the Interstate Highway Program is needed to get it all done.

Quick Links

Icon Train Tunnel

San Francisco – Los Angeles in under 3 hours.

A new 220-mph backbone is under construction.

The best intregrated railplan in America.

California’s Rail Plan is unique in America, and it’s an excellent model for other states to follow.

Corridors and Projects in California

Check out what’s happening in your part of the state.

Take Action

Tell your Representatives that you want an Interstate Railway Program.

Artist rendering of tunnels and viaducts in California with windmills in background.

Getting trains through Pacheco Pass and Tehachapi Passes will transform travel throughout the state.

Build the Backbone To Kickstart California

Speed and frequent departures are needed to overcome California’s entrenched car culture.

How will that happen? By building a backbone that:

  • Closes the gaps between the Central Valley and the Silicon Valley and the LA Basin
  • Links the Silicon Valley and LA in less than 3 hours
  • Has timed connections to regional rail, regional buses, and local transit
  • Unites hundreds of cities and towns

 

California has a great start in the Central Valley.

Los Angeles to San Francisco in Three Hours

If you’re driving, you either wind through the Central Valley or up the coast, on a scenic road that doesn’t lend itself to speed. At best, you’re driving for six hours. Flying is hardly better.

That’s where high-speed trains come in. By cutting new tunnels though the mountains, high speed rail will make the trip between cities faster, easier, and more efficient. Step on a train in Los Angeles in the morning. Ride in comfort with room to stretch around. Be in San Francisco for lunch. It’s within our grasp.

A woman is on the platform in Seville, Spain with a large rolling suitcase looking for her friend before boarding.

Spain, with mountains similar to California’s, has had high-speed trains since 1993.

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Connecting Hundreds of Cities and Towns

California is more than its biggest cities. There are suburbs, exurbs, rural communities, small towns.

All of these have life and character. All of them have people who deserve better trains and buses. The high-speed backbone makes it possible. With timed connections to California’s excellent conventional trains and buses, high-speed rail will link hundreds of cities and towns across the state.

Read more about California’s integrated rail plan.

A woman is reading her IAD while riding on the train.

Take Action

Please join with us in asking Congress to create a national railway program to re-connect America with fast, frequent, and affordable trains.

Sign the Petition

Corridors and Projects in California

California has the biggest and most aggressive railway program in the country.

Here is an overview of what is in the works.

220-mph Backbone

San Francisco to Los Angeles under 3 hours and improving travel between hundreds of cities.
A new Caltrain EMu is parked at San Jose Ca station for public tours.

Caltrain

Building the most modern regional rail line in North America.
A conceptual rendering of the proposed Brightline West station in Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.

Brightline West

186-mph trains linking Las Vegas and the LA Basin by 2028
A conceptual rendering of the high-speed rail station at Palmdale, CA

High Desert Corridor

Linking Brightline West to CA High Speed Rail
Passenger have just dis-embarked from a SMART train in Northern California on a rainy day.

SMART

Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit is a new regional line across the Bay from San Francisco.
The BART system map.

BART

Though it's full name is Bay Area Rapid Transit, BART functions more like a regional rail network and will connect directly to high-speed rail at San Jose.
A map showing a potential new railroad tunnel under the San Francisco Bay.

Link 21

Planning for a new tunnel under San Francisco Bay is underway.
The O'Hare Transfer station is in the foreground and the ramp into an O'Hare parking garage is in the background.

Capitol Corridor

Linking San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento with 16 trains a day.

Valley Rail

A group if infrastructure projects, including a new Altamont Pass railroad tunnel are underway to expand service between Merced, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Jose.
A map of the Valley Link Phase I route.

Valley Link

Valley Link is a new railway route across Altamont Pass to allow faster and more frequent trains than the existing Union Pacific route.
The train conductor is helping a man load his bike onto a San Joaquin train in the Central Valley.

San Joaquins

The Amtrak San Joaquins are the foundation for CA high-speed rail.
The new train station in Moline, IL

Cross Valley Rail

A new east-west rail line will connect to the new high-speed line at Kings-Tulare.
Passengers are passing by a Metrolink train to board an Amtrak train in southern California.

Lossan Corridor

The 351-mile Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor is the second busiest intercity passenger rail corridor in the United States.  It hosts more than 150 Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink & COASTER trains daily.
A Metrolink train in the San Bernadino downtown station

San Bernadino Line

Metrolink's San Bernadino Line has important role in connecting Brightline West to Downtown LA.
A hydrogen powered trainset on display at a trade show.

Arrow / Redlands

This 9-mile extension of the San Bernadino line is innovating new trainset designs.

A passegner has just gotten off a bus.

Feeder Bus

California has a large feeder bus network that connects most of the state.

Sprinter is loading passengers at the Oceanside station.

Sprinter

The Sprinter is a feeder line that connects to the LOSSAN Corridor at Oceanside.

A crowd is waiting to board an Amtrak train in CA.

Inter-Regional

California is served by three inter-regional routes that provide the foundation for corridors to surrounding states.

A overhead view of a new highway bridge over a four-lane highway, a railroad and the new right-of-way for the California high-speed line.

The new Merced Avenue overpass takes traffic over SR 43, as well as BNSF and future high-speed rail lines.

A federal program is needed to get it done.

California is far ahead of the rest of the country in developing high-speed and regional rail. But they are unique. Most of their routes do not cross state lines.

Most states will require an Interstate Railway Program to build multi-state networks. And California cannot achieve its full potential without a federally-led program.

The recent Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Law is a great step in the right direction. Much more needs to be done.

Please join us in asking Congress to create an Interstate Railway Program.

A dude is using an IPad on a station platform wth a high-speed train in the background.

Take Action

The country needs an Interstate Railway Program, like the Interstate Highway Program, to take full advantage of the community, economic, and environmental benefits of trains.

Please join with us in asking Congress to create a national railway program to re-connect America with fast, frequent, and affordable trains.

Sign the Petition