Rep.SaludCarbajal
Program created by landmark infrastructure law is delivering funds to support improvements to Amtrak Surfliner corridor and further development of new service between San Luis Obispo and San Jose
Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) is announcing $1,000,000 in investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support improved passenger rail options for Central Coast residents through a federal rail program created by his work on the landmark 2021 law.
The federal investments will support efforts to expand and improve the Pacific Surfliner corridor through the Central Coast down to San Diego, and help explore new service options between San Luis Obispo and San Jose.
“Expanding passenger rail options for traveling the Central Coast will not only give our communities better ways to travel our region, but it will continue to bring new visitors to our local economies without additional traffic and with a lower carbon footprint. That’s a win-win for us all,” said Rep. Carbajal. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was the largest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak, and I’m proud to see another large investment from our landmark law that I helped write coming to the Central Coast to continue the revitalization of our region.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was passed by Rep. Carbajal and his colleagues in November 2021, authorized the creation of a new rail program to support development of improved intercity passenger rail.
The Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program is awarding the California Department of Transportation:
- $500,000 for the Central Coast Corridor project, aimed at providing new service over a route currently only served by Amtrak’s long-distance Coast Starlight between San Jose and San Luis Obispo, CA.
- $500,000 for the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor, aimed at enhancing the existing Pacific Surfliner between San Luis Obispo to San Diego, with a proposed extension south to San Ysidro, CA. The proposed project would also include new frequencies and improvements to reliability.
The awards announced today through the Federal Railroad Administration provides funds to help the California Department of Transportation’s early planning and development of these rail improvement projects.
Earlier this week, Congressman Salud Carbajal announced a $8,000,000 grant funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to reduce vehicle collisions with Central Coast wildlife by connecting the habitat on either side of U.S. Highway 101 through the Gaviota Pass.
To date, the Central Coast has received over $550 million for more than 100 projects, including:
- More than $200 million for road, bridge, and highway upgrades across the Central Coast, including $75 million to fund an extension of the HOV lanes on Highway 101
- $47 million to support clean water projects across the region, including $14 million to support the Ventura Water Pure Program and $9 million to support the Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project
- $25 million to plug approximately 171 orphan oil wells in Cat Canyon in Santa Barbara County and $1.4 million to plug an orphaned oil well in the Channel Islands National Park
- $12 million for the Gold Coast Transit District for low and no emission buses
- More than $7 million in funding for upgrades at seven different regional airports on the Central Coast, including Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, and Santa Maria Airport
- $500,000 to help close the digital divide by expanding high-speed internet connectivity in the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
A map of some of the investments funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can be found at Invest.gov.
Since its passage in 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has already delivered nearly $400 billion in federal funding for more than 40,000 projects across the country. The law has awarded $22.5 billion to more than 1,000 projects in California.
Through his role as a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Carbajal helped write and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law over the course of 2021.
Rep. Salud Carbajal represents California’s 24th Congressional District, encompassing Santa Barbara County and portions of San Luis Obispo County and Ventura County. He is a member of the Agriculture and Armed Services Committees, as well as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he serves as the top Democrat on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee.
Thank you again, Congressman Carbajal, for your efforts on behalf of your constituents!
Interesting to see the “new” proposed modern rail line routes. This is very overdue, but thankfully the ball is getting rolling to bring the U.S. railroad passenger system into the same world that most first world countries enjoy – that of extremely fast, comfortable, safe and cost affective rail transit systems.