San Jose council backs raised high-speed rail

The San Jose City Council voted 8-2 Tuesday afternoon to recommend construction of an aerial track for high-speed trains through the city’s downtown area, a significantly quicker and less-expensive option than an underground tunnel for the trains.

But their approval was contingent on having a binding agreement with the California High-Speed Rail Authority in the next few weeks that city officials have the ability to approve or reject aerial structure designs and construction materials for the route through the central city.

Michelle McGurk, a spokeswoman for Mayor Chuck Reed, said council members Pierluigi Oliverio and Kansen Chu voted against the motion, while Pete Constant was absent.

Reed co-wrote a Sept. 10 letter with council members Sam Liccardo, Ash Kalra and Madison Nguyen that expressed support for the aerial option, expected to take several years less to build and significantly reduce the projected $2.5 billion cost of running the trains underground through the city. However, they also said if an agreement with the state High-Speed Rail Authority that would give city officials the right to review the project isn’t reached by Oct. 1, they will seek a study of the underground alignment as part of the project’s environmental review process.

Read more in the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.