On February 17, 2017, Caltrain received word from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) that a decision on whether to execute the pending USD 647 million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project will be deferred until the Administration develops the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Budget.
“Clearly, the FTA’s evaluation demonstrates that this Federal investment should be made based on the merits of the project, and we expect that the USDOT will continue with a fair process,” Caltrain Chief Communications Officer Seamus Murphy said.
The contracts that have been awarded to complete the project require that a Notice to Proceed be issued prior to March 1. Deferral of the decision to execute the FFGA will prevent Caltrain from issuing the notice by this date and may jeopardize the viability of the project itself.
Caltrain is evaluating options for maintaining a viable project in the face of uncertainty about the timing of FFGA approval and the question about whether it will be approved at all.
In September, Caltrain issued a Limited Notice to Proceed to its contractors to advance design and pre-construction efforts. This work is nearly complete and approval of this Federal funding would match nearly USD 1.3 billion in secured local, state and regional investment, and allow construction to begin.
Caltrain has secured all local, regional, state, and Federal non-Core Capacity funds for the project. The only funding that is needed is USD 647m from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Core Capacity program.
In July 2016, the company’s Board approved the USD 1.25 billion contracts to begin work on the project. Balfour Beatty Infrastructure won the USD 697 million contract for the design and construction of the corridor’s electrification infrastructure. Stadler US, Inc won a USD 551 million contract for the delivery of 16 six-car KISS double-decker EMUs, with an option for an additional 96 cars.
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