BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
526 (Ashburn)
Hearing Date: 05/11/2009 Amended: 04/02/2009
Consultant: Mark McKenzie Policy Vote: T&H 10-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 526 would require the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) to enter into negotiations for the
extension of passenger train service from the San Joaquin
intercity train route to San Francisco via the Altamont Pass.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Caltrans staff costs: $53 $105 Special*
(contract admin/negotiations)
Consulting contract $125 $125 Special*
Caltrans report minor costs to report on progress of
Special*
negotiations
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* State Highway Account
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Existing law authorizes Caltrans to enter into contracts with
Amtrak to provide intercity passenger service. Among the
contracts is the San Joaquin service with four trains operating
from Bakersfield to Oakland via Stockton and Martinez and two
trains operating to Sacramento from Bakersfield. The San
Joaquin route service is provided over track owned by freight
rail companies Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Union
Pacific (UP). In 2006-07, the service carried 789,641
passengers and received a state operating subsidy of over $34
million. There are two commuter services operating in the
corridor, the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) service operating
between Stockton and San Jose over UP tracks and the Caltrain
service between San Francisco and San Jose over tracks it owns.
The Capitol Corridor, ACE, and UP operate over the same tracks
between Newark and San Jose.
SB 526 would require Caltrans to enter into negotiations with
operating freight and commuter railroads to develop a service
plan and operating agreement for the extension of at least one
San Joaquin passenger train to San Francisco using the Altamont
Corridor. Caltrans would be report to the Legislature on the
progress of the negotiations by March 31, 2010.
Caltrans estimates a need for up to .5 PY for contract
administration, oversight, and participation in negotiations,
and an additional .5 PY for necessary legal support.
Furthermore, costs to develop a service plan would require the
support of an outside consultant at a cost of approximately
$250,000 to perform capacity modeling and
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SB 526 (Ashburn)
preliminary engineering for infrastructure improvements that may
be necessary. Staff estimates that these functions could be
performed over the 2010 calendar year.
Staff notes that the extension of intercity passenger rail
service over the Altamont Pass, as envisioned in this bill, is
not included in Caltrans' State Rail Plan, which covers the
period from 2007-08 through 2017-18. There are no existing
market or demand studies to determine whether this service is
desirable or cost-effective. To the extent that negotiations
with operating freight and commuter railroads lead to the
extension of intercity passenger rail service over the Altamont
Pass, SB 526 would impose significant special fund and General
Fund cost pressures related to necessary capital improvements
and ongoing operational costs of this segment. Intercity
passenger rail operational costs come primarily from the Public
Transportation Account while capital costs could come from a
variety of funding sources, including the State Highway Account
(through a STIP allocation), Proposition 1B bond funds, federal
funds, or the General Fund.