SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – California's High-Speed Rail Authority approved the roughly 49-mile route connecting San Francisco and San Jose on Thursday.
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The move by California's High-Speed Rail Board completes the environmental go-ahead for the project from the Bay Area through the central valley, bringing the 220-mile-per-hour electric rail system a step closer to construction
"Once the high-speed rail is fully operating, it will be the equivalent of taking 400,000 passenger vehicles off our roads every year," said San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
The Bay Area route approved by the board means the high-speed rail system will share a corridor with Caltrain on the Peninsula.
The city of Millbrae has voiced concerns that rail could upend development plans near its station shared by BART and Caltrain, but the rail authority pledged to work with the city.
Two Southern California stretches still need approval, one connecting Palmdale and Burbank as well as between Los Angeles and Anaheim
And the goal is to one day connect San Francisco and Los Angeles.
"The fact that traveling from San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles takes twice as long by train as by car should be embarrassing for all of us," said California Sen. Scott Wiener.
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