Press Conference Announcement

HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL 10 A.M., May 4, 2010California Rail FoundationPlanning and Conservation LeagueTransportation Solutions Defense and Education FundPeninsula Elected Officials

New High-Speed Rail Route Unveiled Today

Event: Press/Photo Opportunity at Burlingame High School [directions below]Location: The location will provide visuals of tree-lined Caltrain Corridor.Time: 10 A.M., Tuesday, May 4thBurlingame, CA, 4 May, 2010 -- At a photo opportunity at the Burlingame High School,three environmental organizations will unveil a report by their consultant team thatidentifies a feasible high-speed rail route using the Altamont (I-580) Corridor. The reportis a direct challenge to the on-going rejection of that route by the California High-SpeedRail Authority (CHSRA). The groups will be joined by several Peninsula Mayors.The new alternative cuts the Caltrain miles shared by high-speed trains by at least two-thirds, simultaneously speeding up the trains while reducing community impacts. Mayor Pat Burt of Palo Alto said, “This new Altamont Alternative is really interesting. It lookslike it could connect the Bay Area to the Central Valley without the harmful impacts of widening the Caltrain Corridor.” The plan would avoid neighborhoods on the Peninsulaand in the East Bay by using highway rights-of-way and several miles of tunnels. Mayor Cathy Baylock of Burlingame added “This Alternative should be seriously studied by theHigh-Speed Rail Authority. It could solve a lot of problems that high-speed rail mightcause our city.”The three groups, the California Rail Foundation, the Transportation Solutions Defenseand Education Fund, and the Planning and Conservation League filed the report alongwith the rest of their comments on the CHSRA‘s Revised Draft Environmental ImpactReport. The Authority’s previous EIR had been thrown out by the Court as the result of achallenge by the three groups, the Town of Atherton and the City of Menlo Park.The Setec Ferroviaire consultant team, with long experience designing and managingconstruction of high-speed rail lines in France, found that “The Altamont route willprovide an improved rail corridor between the northern San Joaquin Valley and the BayArea to support passenger service between the Bay Area, the Tri-Valley area, and theNorthern San Joaquin Valley. In addition, this route will offer a travel alternative that iscompetitive with the travel costs and time of auto, intercity bus and regional air modes.… For the operation of a high-speed rail service, the route through Altamont has manymore advantages than the Pacheco plan.”

Expert evidence of feasibility will be crucial in preventing the Authority from againrejecting the Altamont Route. Environmentalists prefer the Altamont Route because it:

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Avoids the Grasslands Ecological Area, California’s largest fresh water wetlandscomplex;

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Avoids inducing new sprawl in Santa Clara and Merced Counties;

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Provides attractive rail service linking the Bay Area, Stockton, and Sacramento,with most trips less than an hour;

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Addresses highway congestion on Interstates 80, 880, 580, and 680;

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Adds mobility between the Bay Area and the northern San Joaquin Valley;

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Generates much higher ridership than the Pacheco Route, because it serves theEast Bay and the northern San Joaquin Valley, with 2 million more residents within10 miles of stations.About the non-profit groups:CALIFORNIA RAIL FOUNDATION, based in Sacramento, works to educate the publicon rail and bus technology and promote cost-effective expansion of the state's publictransportation services.Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund, TRANSDEF, is headquartered inthe Bay Area and advocates for effective regional planning, smart growth, improvedtransit service, and cleaner air.PLANNING AND CONSERVATION LEAGUE, headquartered in Sacramento, workswithin the political and legal systems to enact and implement policies that protect andrestore the California environment.Contact:David Schonbrunn, PresidentTransportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund (TRANSDEF)P.O. Box 151439San Rafael, CA 94915415-370-7250 cell & officeDavid@Schonbrunn.orgwww.transdef.orgRich Tolmach, PresidentCalifornia Rail Foundation1730 13th StreetSacramento, CA 95811916-388-4658 cellrft@calrailfoundation.orgCalRailFoundation.org ###