The Coast Daylight project is a joint Caltrans/Amtrak effort headed up by the Coast Rail Coordinating Council (CRCC), to extend an existing Pacific Surfliner train that currently runs between San Diego and San Luis Obispo up to San Jose. Currently, the planned stops in Monterey County are in Pajaro/Watsonville, Salinas, Soledad and the City of King. The project relies on local jurisdictions to construct any stations that may be required.
In March 2014, TAMC contracted with Amtrak to study the route, ridership and financial impacts of the proposed Coast Daylight project, with the goal of empowering Amtrak to negotiate with the railroad on behalf of the CRCC. The Board approval of that contract indicated the fund source would be “state funding” through the State Transportation Improvements Program (STIP). The study was well underway when staff was told by Caltrans that a “feasibility study” was not eligible for the STIP funding allocation, which was intended for the environmental review of the project. Although TAMC staff disagrees with Caltrans’ position on funding eligibility, staff does not recommend making an issue of it for this particular activity. (The STIP funding allocation is now being spent on the federal environmental documents for the San Jose – Salinas corridor. Federal environmental review is required to make the proposed rail service projects in the corridor eligible for federal funds in the future. The Board approved the environmental review contract on October 28, 2015.)
The final Amtrak ridership and financial evaluation study shows the Coast Daylight project would be feasible at a net cost to the state of $3.1 million in annual operating costs, while adding over 100,000 new riders to the underserved coast rail corridor. The Board accepted the final “Coast Daylight Route, Service Ridership and Financial Evaluation” as complete on June 22, 2016; that Board report noted the funding was “local transportation funding.” In order to make clear the source of funds, in the event of a possible audit, staff recommends the Board approve using Agency reserves as the funding source for this study.
Counsel Approval: YES
Finance Approval: YES