Overview - Advisory Group Meeting 2 - October 9, 2018
Twenty members of the committee attended the second meeting. The agenda included:
- Update on corridor planning including travel demand modeling
- Overview of the economic impact study
- Lessons learned from the California High Speed Rail program
Update on corridor planning
- The 2017 UHSGT Feasibility Study showed demand for ultra-high-speed service at a conceptual level, with the ability to maximize cost recovery with 12 round trips a day
- The business case analysis will identify population concentrations and their relationship to transit, employment centers and emerging industries to identify conceptual alignments and potential station locations
- A ridership survey will be conducted in the project corridor to understand how travelers make choices between travel modes
Economic impact study
- Developing an economic profile of the megaregion will help identify synergies and areas of complement within the corridor
- Future work in the business case analysis will include modeling economic growth to identify wider economic impacts and develop a benefit cost analysis
History and lessons learned from CAHSR
- California High-Speed Rail program experienced challenges with acquiring right of way and grant expenditure deadlines
- The CAHSR experience has helped inform several best practices, including working closely with stakeholders, conducting early hazard analyses, incorporating socioeconomic projections and strengthening oversight functions
Advisory Group Discussion
- Corridor planning should include current and future conditions, and consider how high-speed travel could help alleviate key highway congestion areas
- Define and analyze equity considerations as part of corridor planning
- Consider modeling the impact of the project on greenhouse gas emissions
- Ensure models define how far people will travel to access ultra-high-speed transportation
- Include analysis of growing industries in the region, including clean technology, healthcare, and maritime
- Provide an overview at future meetings of FRA and both U.S. and Canadian environmental review processes, as well as public private partnership opportunities
