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RAIL FACT SHEETS South Palo Alto with At-Grade Freight

What is a tunnel with at-grade freight? For the tunnel alternative, the railroad tracks will be lowered in a south of Expressway to approximately Loma Verde Avenue. The twin bore tunnel will begin near Loma Verde Avenue and extend to just south of Charleston . The railroad tracks will then be raised in trench to approximately Ferne Avenue. The new electrified southbound railroad tracks will be built at the same horizontal location as the existing railroad , however, the northbound track will be moved to the east within the limits of the tunnel to accommodate the spacing required between the twin bores. The railroad tracks in the trench and tunnel will carry only passenger . The freight trains will remain at-grade. The roadways at Meadow Drive and Charleston Road remain at their existing grade and will have a similar configuration that exists today with the addition of Class II buffered bike on Charleston Road. This will require expanding the width of the road to maintain bike lanes through the overpass of the railroad. By the numbers Neighborhood Considerations • Diameter of twin bores is 30 feet. • Alma Street will permanently be reduced to one • Railroad track is designed for 110 mph. in each direction from south of Oregon Expressway to Ventura Avenue and from Charleston Road to Ferne • Meadow Drive and Charleston Road are Avenue. designed for 25 mph. • The tracks will be approximately 70 feet below the Proposed Ground Level View - Looking Southwest • Maximum grade on railroad is 2%. existing grade in the tunnel section. A high fence will be Charleston Road Intersection • Travel lane widths are 10-12 feet. required along trench walls. • Bike lane widths are 5-6 feet. • With grade separations at Meadow Drive and Charleston Road the traffic at nearby intersections is expected to • Construction period is approximately 6 years. improve. Challenges Cost Breakdown • A non-standard grade of 2% will be required on tracks. Caltrain’s preferred maximum grade is 1%. Roadway & Railroad Items $735M to $1,102M • Lowering of the tracks will require diversion of Right-of-way & Utilities $7M to $10M Adobe and Matadero creeks, resulting in the need for lift stations/siphons and numerous regulatory Support Costs $227M to $340M agency permits/approvals. Negotiations with Escalation from 2018 to 2025 dollars $204M to $307M the regulatory agencies will be lengthy and difficult since there are other “least impacting” TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $1,173M to $1,759M alternatives that could be considered. Preliminary and subject to change. Maintenance costs and relocation of fiber optic lines not included. • Pump stations will also be needed for dewatering since the tunnel will be below the ground water level.

Lift Station • Increased long term maintenance costs and risk of flooding due to pump stations. Barron Creek • Major utility relocations are required for the lowered railroad.

Proposed Tunnel Aerial View - Looking South Proposed Backyard View - Looking East For more Rail Fact Sheets visit: Typical Property West of Tracks https://connectingpaloalto.com/ fact sheets/ Alameda Rail Corridor, Long Beach

November 7, 2019 Evaluation with City Council-Adopted Criteria 16 FT. EXISTING ~ 60 FT. EXISTING Facilitate movement across the corridor for all modes of Reduce rail noise and vibration 100 FT. CALTRAIN RIGHT-OF-WAY ALMA STREET AREA transportation Train horn noise and warning bells will remain for the Meadow Drive and Charleston Road will be grade separated from at-grade crossings to accommodate the freight trains. the passenger trains for all modes and will remain open. At- Utilizing electric engines instead of diesel engines will grade crossing will remain for the freight trains. also reduce noise. In the trench section, train noise could reflect off walls and impact properties farther away, which can be mitigated. In the tunnel section, train wheel Reduce delay and congestion for vehicular traffic at rail FREIGHT crossings noise will be contained. TRACKS EXISTING The railroad crossing gates and warning lights at Meadow Drive Minimize visual changes along the corridor SIDEWALK and Charleston Road will be remain. Thus, the traffic will be FENCE FENCE Passenger tracks will be below grade and freight tracks interrupted by railroad crossing gates. EXISTING FENCE will be at-grade with high fencing. Landscaping options GROUND Provide clear, safe routes for pedestrians and cyclists will be limited to plants with shallow roots in areas where ground anchors are required for the trench section. crossing the rail corridor, separate from CLTUNNEL/TRACK CL TUNNEL/TRACK Pedestrians/cyclists will be separated from passenger train Maintain access to neighborhoods, parks, and 2-LANE traffic only. ROADWAY schools along the corridor while reducing regional 40 FT. MAX Support continued rail operation and Caltrain service traffic on neighborhood streets improvements Diversion of regional traffic with the permanent lane reduction on Alma Street will impact residential streets. A temporary railroad track will be required at the boring pit areas to the north and south. A siding track will be relocated north of the California Avenue Caltrain Station. Due to the pump stations, Minimize right-of-way acquisition there will be potential risks to train operations due to flooding. Subsurface acquisitions will be required for the ground anchors for the trench retaining walls and right of way acquisitions will be required to construct pump stations. GROUND Finance with feasible funding sources ANCHOR The tunnel will require the greatest levels of local funding in the Minimize disruption and duration of construction form of fees, taxes or special assessments, the feasibility of Example Section - South Portal Tunnel - Looking North which are still being studied in the context of overall citywide Extended lane reductions on Alma Street are required. infrastructure funding needs. However, this alternative would not Construction would last for approximately 6 years. be eligible for grade separation funding as the at-grade crossing EXAMPLE SECTION – for freight would remain. SOUTH PORTAL LAUNCH PIT SOUTH TUNNEL – OPTION 2 (LOOKING NORTH) Concept Plan and Profile Adobe Creek

California Avenue Station Creek ALMA ST Matadero

Barron Creek FERNE AVE FERNE

LOMA VERDEAVE

OREGON EXPY MEADOW DR

SAN ANTONIO AVE

CHARLESTON RD Ferne Oregon Expy Meadow Dr Charleston Rd Ave San Antonio Ave 80 Approximate Groundwater Elevation Adobe Creek Existing Creek 60 Matadero Creek Lift Station or Siphon Tunnel Track Profile Box Culvert -0.02% Existing Creek Lift Station or Siphon 40 -0.25% Box Culvert

20 2.00% South Tunnel Portal 0 North Tunnel Portal -2.00% Tunnel Walls -20 End Bored Tunnel Begin Bored Tunnel -40 Tunnel Pump Station -60 225+00 230+00 235+00 240+00 245+00 250+00 255+00 260+00 265+00 270+00 275+00 280+00 285+00 290+00 295+00 300+00 305+00 310+00 315+00 320+00 325+00 330+00 335+00 340+00 345+00 500 FT. Trench Tunnel Trench DISTANCE (ft) 10

Vertical (TYP) Horizontal LEGEND New Permanent Track Existing Track Temporary Track (Shoofly) Caltrain Right-of-Way Existing Ground Level Tunnel Track Profile New Permanent Fence Removal of Existing Landscaping Relocation of Curb Station Platform Groundwater Trench Area 1 For more renderings, plans and animations visit: https://connectingpaloalto.com/renderings-plans-and-animations/

Approximate Groundwater Railroad Elevation Bridge