Rail and Transit Guideline Workshops Announced

Published:

The California State Transportation Agency would like to invite you to join us at workshops to discuss guidelines for the next round of Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) awards and the first round of State Rail Assistance (SRA) Program awards. This is an opportunity for applicants and other stakeholders to learn more about the programs and timelines, and provide input for program guidelines.

By statute, the next round of TIRCP will be a five-year program and awarded projects will be announced by CalSTA in Spring 2018. Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the landmark transportation infrastructure bill signed by Governor Brown in April, will provide $7.6 billion in new transit funding over the next decade. With SB 1 funding and base funding from California Climate Investments, the five-year program is anticipated to be $2 billion or more. The competitive program aims to improve the statewide transit network and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CalSTA is anticipating publishing final guidelines and making a call for projects in October 2017.

Senate Bill 1 created the State Rail Assistance Program by directing a portion of new revenue specifically to intercity rail and commuter rail. This revenue is estimated to be $25 million in 2017-18, $39 million in 2018-19, and $41 million in 2019-20. The majority of program funding is directed by statutory formula to rail operators, with guidelines defining process and timeline for agencies to obtain funding.

CalSTA welcomes input from all stakeholders, and there will be multiple opportunities to provide input on these draft guidelines in both discussion and finalized form. For those wishing to provide public comment on the discussion draft guidelines, there are two workshops scheduled:

Los Angeles
August 18, 2017
Los Angeles MTA
Gateway Room
One Gateway Plaza, 3rd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Sacramento
August 21, 2017
Caltrans TransLab & via webinar
TransLab Auditorium
5900 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95819
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM

If you are unable to attend the workshops, the Sacramento workshop will be webcast live.

CalSTA also welcomes written comments, which can be submitted to the program email account for each program: tircpcomments@dot.ca.gov or sra@calsta.ca.gov. Comments are requested on the discussion draft no later than August 23 to be incorporated into the next public draft.

The final draft guidelines will be posted on August 28, and after a 30-day public review period, CalSTA will hold public workshops on September 29 and October 2. Comments on the final draft guidelines are requested by October 5, and can be made in writing or in person at the workshops.

Draft discussion TIRCP guidelines.

Draft discussion SRA guidelines

Workshop presentation