Authority Approves Final Business Plan for Next Phase of California High-Speed Rail Project -- Concludes Five-Month Public Comment Period With Final Workshop in Los Angeles.

Business/News Editors & Transportation Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2000

-- Authority Urges Administration and Lawmakers to Continue

Incremental Progress and Initiate Engineering and

Environmental Clearance Phases --

Moving California closer to the reality of high-speed train travel, the California High-Speed Rail Authority today approved the final business plan that will be sent to the Governor and legislators in June 2000.

"The public demand for a California high-speed train system has been confirmed," said Authority Chairman Michael Tennenbaum. "We remain confident that the system will yield solid financial returns to the state's taxpayers and solve critical transportation issues," said Tennenbaum.

The business plan outlines an incremental approach to financing, constructing and operating a high-speed train network, which has been the focus of more than fifteen public workshops held in communities throughout the state.

"While ultimately it is the decision of the Governor and Legislature, we believe that a phased approach is the best," said Mehdi Morshed, executive director of the Authority. "The next step in the process is to begin the environmental clearance phase and improve selected existing rail corridors that may ultimately become a part of the high-speed line."

The business plan recommends the following steps to produce a completed system by 2016:

-- Initiate a formal environmental clearance process on the proposed high-speed train system route.

-- Increase funding and accelerate planning for inter-city and commuter rail improvements -- to provide enhanced higher-speed service to Californians sooner.

-- Begin an aggressive statewide effort to increase federal funding for both conventional and high-speed trains in California.

-- Encourage state, regional and local entities to include high-speed trains in their planning for the future.

Copies of the business plan are available at the public workshop and on the Authority's Web site at www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov. The authority will hold its final public workshop in Los Angeles on Friday, June 9 at 10:00 a.m. at the Metropolitan Water District Headquarters.