NEWS RELEASE: California High-Speed Rail Clears Path for Major Environmental Clearance, Connecting San Francisco to Downtown Los Angeles

May 24, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) today released the final environmental document for the more than 30-mile segment between Palmdale and Burbank in Southern California. This is the last key environmental document needed to connect San Francisco to downtown Los Angeles. The document is on track to be presented to the Authority’s Board of Directors for consideration during a two-day board meeting June 26 and 27.

“This is a huge milestone for the project and it represents the culmination of years of analysis and stakeholder engagement to connect high-speed rail between two of the state’s major metropolitan centers, San Francisco and Los Angeles,” said Authority CEO Brian Kelly. “With board approval, the project will have environmental clearance for 463 miles of the Phase 1 system between downtown San Francisco and downtown Los Angeles.”

At speeds up to 220 mph, this section will connect the Antelope Valley to the San Fernando Valley in a roughly 17-minute train trip – more than twice as fast as traveling by car. The Palmdale to Burbank Project Section will connect two key population centers in Los Angeles County by linking future multimodal transportation hubs in Palmdale and Burbank. The section features about 30 miles of tunneling, including 28 miles through mountains.

The Final EIR/EIS includes analysis of all six build alternatives and the No Project Alternative. The preferred alternative is the SR14A Alternative, which runs along State Route 14 and is approximately 38 miles. It will be a grade-separated, high-speed rail-only system. Trains operating on the Preferred Alternative would be underground through the community of Acton and much of the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Tunneling through these regions minimizes impacts to communities and environmental resources in the region.

The Authority serves as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Draft EIR/EIS was circulated for public review and comment from early September through early December 2022.  The Authority has considered all substantive comments received during the public comment period and responses to the comments are documented in the Final EIR/EIS. The document includes:

• An analysis of alternatives, including impacts and effects.
• Mitigation measures proposed to reduce environmental impacts and effects.
• Public comments received on the Draft EIR/EIS and responses to those comments.
• Revisions to the Draft EIR/EIS made in response to comments.

Pending Board approval, the Authority can begin preparing this segment for construction as funding becomes available. All that remains to environmentally clear the full 494-mile Phase 1 system of the project is the Los Angeles to Anaheim segment, which the Authority expects to finalize next year.

The Final EIR/EIS can be found on the Authority’s website hsr.ca.gov. In addition to the website, printed and/or electronic copies of the Final EIR/IES are available at the Authority’s Sacramento and Los Angeles offices by appointment and are available at the following locations during operating hours:

Burbank:

• Burbank Public Library, Northwest Branch
  3323 West Victory Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91505
  Phone: (818) 238-5640

Los Angeles County:

• Acton/Agua Dulce Branch
  33792 Crown Valley Road, Acton, CA 93510
  Phone: (661) 269-7101
• Lake View Terrace Branch
  12002 Osborne Street, Lake View Terrace, CA 91342
  Phone: (818) 890-7404
• Pacoima Branch
  13605 Van Nuys Boulevard, Pacoima, CA 91331
  Phone: (818) 899-5203
• San Fernando Library
  217 North Maclay Avenue, San Fernando, CA 91340
  Phone: (818) 365-6928
• Sun Valley Branch Library
  7935 Vineland Avenue, Sun Valley, CA 91352
  Phone: (818) 764-1338
• Sylmar Branch Library
  14561 Polk Street, Sylmar, CA 91342
  Phone: (818) 367-6102
• Sunland-Tujunga Branch Library
  7771 Foothill Boulevard, Tujunga, CA 91042
  Phone: (818) 352-4481

Palmdale:

• Palmdale City Library
  700 East Palmdale Boulevard, Palmdale, CA 93550
  Phone: (661) 267-5600

Santa Clarita:

• Canyon Country Jo Anne Darcy Library
  18601 Soledad Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91351
  Phone: (661) 259-0750

Under CEQA and NEPA, this Final EIR/EIS and associated documents will be available to the public starting today and is available online as a PDF at the Authority’s website. You can request an electronic copy by calling (800) 630-1039.

The Authority has begun work to extend the 119 miles currently under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. There are currently more than 25 active construction sites in the Valley, with the Authority having also fully environmentally cleared 422 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to Los Angeles County. For the latest on high-speed rail construction, visit www.buildhsr.com.

The following link contains recent video, animations, photography, press center resources and latest renderings: https://hsra.app.box.com/s/vyvjv9hckwl1dk603ju15u07fdfir2q8

These files are all available for free use, courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.