This is my vision of the California’s rail network 15 years from now if $350 billion dollars was invested into it right now.
In addition to high speed lines and busy mainlines, I made sure to add lifeline service and robust thruway buses. Rural communities are important! Also the DMUs that would provide lifeline service are so cute :))
In short:
- Consolidate all non-commuter intrastate rail in California under CalRail
- California High-Speed Rail phases 1 & 2
- Brightline West
- Second transbay tube + DTX (Transbay Terminal lives up to its potential :D)
- San Rafael rail bridge
- Improved Capitol Corridor RoW
- Electrification for Capitol Corridor + SMART + Metrolink tracks
- Enhanced service to Redding
- Extend SMART to Willits and rehabilitate the Eel River trackage
- Reactivate old rural rail lines in the Salinas and Central valleys with lifeline rail service
- More thruway buses!!
- Split Coast Starlight and Coast Daylight
Manifesting reality with this map :P
Commuter rail is not pictured but it can share in most of the operational improvements and is far more extensive and frequent than our reality. The specifics are left as an exercise to the reader :)