The East San Fernando Valley LRT is first rail project in the Valley since the original Red line subway was extended to North Hollywood in 2000. Metro
Rail and transit projects in California (US) are to share USD2.5bn in grants from the latest round of the California State Transportation Agency’s 2023 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), announced on 31 January.
Created in 2014 to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, TIRCP has provided over USD9bn to more than 100 schemes which further the state’s objectives of expanding public transport service, improving safety and integrating California’s various rail systems.
Nearly half the grants in value terms went to projects in the Bay Area, including:
- USD375m to the Santa Clara Transportation Authority to help extend BART rapid transit service by 10km (six miles) from Berryessa through downtown San Jose and on to Santa Clara. This funding is in addition to a previous USD750m already committed.
- A further USD250m to BART to improve headways through the Transbay Tube as part of its USD2.7bn Transbay Corridor Core Capacity project which includes 306 new railcars, a new storage yard, conversion to a new CBTC system and traction power upgrades.
- USD367m to Caltrain to complete the ongoing electrification of the San Francisco – San Jose corridor.
- USD34m to Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit towards the 4.8km (three-mile) extension of the commuter rail service from Larkspur to Windsor.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will receive:
- USD600m towards the 10.8km (6.7-mile) initial segment of the East San Fernando Valley LRTprojectfrom Van Nuys to Pacoima, scheduled for completion by 2030.
- 4m (on top of a previous USD95m) for the Inglewood Transit Connectorto allow completion of the 2.6km (1.6-mile) automatic guideway link in readiness for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
- Metro was unsuccessful in its bids for USD798mfor the plannedL (Gold) line Foothill extension, and USD500m for the Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor in this round.
Also in Southern California, a further USD149.8m will go towards the estimated USD509m cost of the 6.7km (4.2-mile) OC Streetcar tramline in the southern city of Santa Ana, connecting Harbor Transit Center with the Regional Transportation Center.
Full details ofthe other awards can be found here