RECEIVE update on the planned increase in passenger rail service along the coast corridor between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Progress since the last update on the coast rail project to this Committee on August 6, 2018 includes a successful application for federal funding for Positive Train Control on the coast corridor.

The Coast Rail service project construction and operation costs are still under evaluation.

Caltrans led a successful federal grant application for funding to implement Positive Train Control on the coast corridor, assuming a match of TAMC funding secured via the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program of $1.615 million and State Transportation Improvement Program of $636,340. Staff will bring an item to the Board on September 26, 2018 to ratify this commitment.

The Coast Rail Coordinating Council (CRCC) technical staff held a phone call on August 16 to discuss legislative issues, grant applications, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which the TAMC Board approved on August 22, 2018. The next call is scheduled for September 28.

The next Policy Committee meeting is scheduled for October 19 in Monterey.

On August 20, 2018, TAMC got the news that the Federal Department of Transportation (US DOT) approved an $11.34 million grant for Caltrans, under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant Program. This project will install Positive Train Control, a rail safety technology to prevent train crashes, on the 187-mile corridor from Oakland to San Luis Obispo. This corridor is the only rail corridor in the state of California that does not yet have the technology in place – with this investment, the whole state rail network will be covered. Installing the crash prevention technology will enable an increase in passenger trains on the corridor. The $11.34 million in federal railroad safety funds is leveraged by a $6.25 million state/local commitment of funding for the corridor. Staff will bring an item to the September Board to approve TAMC's share of this local funding commitment. Caltrans is the lead on this project, coordinating with Union Pacific Railroad and local agencies.The project schedule shows planning in 2019, design in 2020, and installation in 2021.