San José to Merced

The San José to Merced project section of the California high-speed rail system will provide a critical rail link between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley. The project section runs from the city of Santa Clara, through San José at Diridon Station to Gilroy, across the Pacheco Pass, and including the Central Valley Wye extending north to Merced and south to Fresno.

The San José to Merced project section overlaps with the San Francisco to San José project section to the north and the Central Valley Wye project section to the east. This route will run from the city of Santa Clara, through Diridon Station in downtown San José to Gilroy, across the Pacheco Pass, to the western limits of the Central Valley Wye, approximately nine miles northeast of Los Banos in Merced County. The Authority Board of Directors adopted the Final EIR/EIS in April 2022, selecting a preferred alignment that will modernize and electrify the existing rail corridor between San Jose and Gilroy, allowing for both electrified high-speed rail and Caltrain service. East of Gilroy, the alignment includes more than 15 miles of tunnels through the Pacheco Pass in the Diablo Mountain Range.

  

  

SECTION DETAILS

What's New

On April 28, 2022, the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (Authority) Board of Directors certified the Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) and approved the San Jose to Merced project section in Northern California. This action completes the environmental clearance for nearly 400 miles of the high-speed rail project’s 500-mile Phase 1 alignment from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim. 

The Board’s actions mark their first certification of an environmental document in the Northern California region and the first in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

The Final EIR/EIS can be found on the Authority’s website: View the project section environmental documents.

Throughout the process, Authority staff will continue to engage stakeholders and communities along the corridor.

Public Involvement & Community Outreach

The Authority encourages public engagement to advance California high-speed rail in Northern California so that the final project reflects the needs and vision of our community as a whole.

We conduct outreach events including Open Houses, Community Working Groups, and attending regional events throughout Northern California to inform and gather input from local communities, policymakers, and stakeholders. Stakeholders include environmental justice groups, community organizations, city/county staff, neighborhood groups, and California residents.

For more detailed information, factsheets, and visualizations of project elements please visit MeetHSRNorcal.org.

Please visit the Events page for a listing of upcoming events and outreach opportunities in your area.

Events Archive:

March 2022

October 2021

March 2021

November 2020

 May 2020

  • Draft EIR/EIS Open House Q&A Webinars on MeetHSRNorcal.org – 05/11, 05/14, 05/18
  • Draft EIR/EIS Public Hearing – 05/27

March 2020

August 2019

July 2019

Due to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, meeting materials prior to July 2019 can be requested through a Public Records Act request.

High-Speed Rail Stations

High-speed rail stations are planned for three locations in the San José to Merced Project Section: San José Diridon Station, Gilroy, and Merced. For more information about individual planned rail stations, please visit the station communities web pages:

Maps

Visit the address lookup and interactive online map to find your property in relation to the project alternatives.

Environmental Review

On April 28, 2022, the Authority Board of Directors certified the Final EIR/EIS for the San José to Merced project section. The Final EIR/EIS can be found on the Authority’s website: View the project section environmental documents.

environmental process diagram

Documents & Reports

Please visit the links below to view the latest project section and California High Speed-Rail reports. Project Section documents & reports:

Statewide documents & reports:

The documents are available for review upon request. The Authority encourages written requests submitted via our Public Records Portal.

Contact Information

If you are interested in inviting the Authority to your community meeting to receive a project update, the team would be happy to coordinate with you. (800) 455-8166 northern.california@hsr.ca.gov Visit the Contact Us page to sign up for e-mail alerts and for additional contact information.

Map Icon INTERACTIVE MAPS

  

PROJECT SECTION ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS 

Get up to speed at BuildHSR.com

All the latest information on what's happening and where as we build California's high-speed rail

The California High-Speed Rail Authority makes every effort to ensure the website and its contents meet mandated ADA requirements as per the California State mandated Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA standard. If you are looking for a particular document not located on the California High-Speed Rail Authority website, you may make a request for the document under the Public Records Act through the Public Records Act page. If you have any questions about the website or its contents, please contact the Authority at info@hsr.ca.gov.