1 of 46

Reimagining Rail with Link21

Fall 2021

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

2 of 46

What’s in store �for you

Overview of Link21
Four Building Blocks to Transform the Passenger Rail Network
Live Q&A

2 /41

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Sadie

I’m Sadie Graham, the Acting Director of Link21.

We came to you over the summer to give you an overview of Link21, which is a program that aims to transform the passenger rail network in Northern California. We want to keep you, the public, informed every step of the way.

Let's talk briefly about what’s in store today.

There will be two main blocks of time. In the first half hour, we’ll give you an update on the Program, along with the four building blocks that we’re using to plan Link21. In the second half hour, we’ll host a live Q&A to answer any questions. When the Q&A goes live, we’ll give you instructions on how to leave a question or comment.

Thanks for being here with us!

Take 1

Now I’d like to turn it over to our board member for some opening remarks.

3 of 46

Placeholder for BART/CCJPA Director

3 /41

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

4 of 46

Placeholder for BART/CCJPA Director

4 /41

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

5 of 46

Meet Our Presenters

Sadie Graham�Link21 Acting Director�BART �Overview of Link21, infrastructure

Nicole Franklin�Public Engagement Manager�BART�Engagement & outreach, equity, train technology

Camille Tsao�Link21 Program Lead �Capitol Corridor�Program development, service

Andrew Tang�Manager of Program Evaluation�BART�Market analysis

5

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

6 of 46

Northern California’s Passenger Rail Network

Adapted from California State Rail Plan, 2018

Existing & Planned

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Sadie

In our summer workshops, we showed you this map of Northern California’s existing and planned passenger rail network.

Many people may not realize that Northern California has a number of different passenger rail services, as indicated by the colors on this map. There are existing intercity rail services like Capitol Corridor and Caltrain, and Regional rail services like ACE, the San Joaquins, SMART, and, in the future, California High Speed Rail.

This map was developed as part of the California State Rail Plan, which sets the stage for new and better rail and community connections. We’re showing it here because Link21 is a critical piece of the State Rail Plan. Link21 is also a key project in MTC’s Plan Bay Area 2050, another long-range transportation improvement initiative. We’re a Program that builds off years of previous research, plans, and studies.

7 of 46

Link21:�A Transformative Rail Program for the Megaregion

Link21 is a program of projects that will transform the passenger rail network in the Northern California Megaregion

Adapted from California State Rail Plan, 2018

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

8 of 46

Link21 Includes a New Transbay Rail Crossing

Projects within the Link21 Program will include

A new passenger rail crossing between Oakland and San Francisco
Network improvements across Northern California that support service through the new transbay crossing

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

9 of 46

Equity is at the core of Link21

Reflect: learn from the past

Contextualize: better understand community needs

Co-create: partner with communities for accessible solutions

Remain transparent and accountable every step of the way

9

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Nicole

Thanks, Sadie.

Equity is at the core of Link21.

The Link21 Team acknowledges that many communities have been harmed by past transportation projects. We are committed to making Link21 a program that serves all communities by following a process to reflect, contextualize, and co-create.

Reflect means learning from other projects to avoid creating further harms to underserved communities

Contextualize means engaging with these communities to better understand their needs

Co-create means developing collaborative solutions that benefit all communities

Our co-creation work gives our team the opportunity to partner with local community-based organizations. Through these partnerships with CBOs, we host workshops to hear from community members that are often left out of the early planning efforts of major projects.

Through co-creation we work with the community to align the Link21 program goals and objectives with community needs.

10 of 46

Link21’s Sustained Commitment to Engagement

TO-DATE:

114.8K website views at Link21Program.org
637 #Link21 social media mentions
2,000+ responses to the �Goals & Objectives survey
400+ attendees at five public workshops, Summer 2021
680 community co-creation participants, in partnership with 30+ community-based organizations
200+ presentations to transportation and other partner agencies

10

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

11 of 46

Link21 Timeline

11

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

12 of 46

Building Blocks for a Better Rail Future

12

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Camille

These four building blocks are how we’re structuring our planning process:

Markets: people and their travel patterns
Service: your experience riding passenger rail
Train Technology: the types of trains we’re going to run
Infrastructure: physical improvements to the passenger rail network�

Markets and service are the “why” behind Link21. We need to understand our markets before we can design service. We need to craft a service plan before we know ”what” types of trains we’re going to run and what we’re going to build – that’s the train technology and infrastructure.

We’re going to focus on the first two building blocks – markets and service. We’ll touch on train technology and infrastructure briefly here and we’ll come back to you next year with more information.

13 of 46

Input is Shaping Link21

13

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

14 of 46

Building Block 1

14

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Andrew

Thanks, Camille.

Let’s talk about markets. To develop Link21, we need to know where people travel to and from, and how likely they are to take a train.

We want to provide better passenger rail service to as many people in Northern California as possible. That’s where the Market Analysis comes in.

In our Market Analysis, we’re asking questions like:

Where can improvement to existing service result in potential new riders?
Which areas without rail service today have the largest number of new potential riders, particularly riders in underserved communities?
Which areas of the Megaregion have the largest potential to reduce travel by cars and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

By answering these questions, we learn which areas in the Megaregion are the best for passenger rail improvements.

A particular focus of ours is to bring rail improvement to communities that have been historically underserved by passenger rail projects. We’ve taken that into account in our market analysis.

These are unique times, and the past year has been full of change. So we’re also studying work-from-home trends, telecommuting, movement of jobs, and more – to see how these new trends affect travel markets.

15 of 46

What Is “Unmet Rail Potential”?

15

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Andrew Tang

�Before I dive into the findings from our Market Analysis, let me explain the concept of “unmet rail potential.”

Unmet rail potential refers to non-rail riders who would take the train if rail service was good and accessible for them. These include, for example,

transit dependent riders who don't have access to rail now

people who would prefer to ride the train instead of driving, if they had the opportunity to do so, and

- riders who don't take trips on the train because it’s not accessible or convenient to them

For longer distance trips, good rail service means fast travel times and convenient operating hours.

For shorter distance trips, good rail service is about trains that come often – with high capacity so trains aren’t crowded – and direct service so there is no need to transfer.

16 of 46

of it would use a new �transbay crossing �between Oakland and �San Francisco.

* at least 3 miles

Of all the unmet rail potential for medium and long trips* throughout the Megaregion,

16

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

17 of 46

Transbay Unmet Rail Potential� Equity Weighted

Salinas/Santa Cruz/Monterey

Stockton/Lodi

Fremont/Union City

Central/South San Mateo Co

San Ramon

Sacramento Co

Stanislaus Co

West San Francisco

Central/South Santa Clara Co

Tracy/Manteca/Lathrop

North Oakland/Emeryville

Central Contra Costa Co

Martinez

Fairfield/Vacaville

Vallejo

West Contra Costa Co

17

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Andrew Tang

Let’s focus our attention on the unmet rail potential for transbay travel. Again, by unmet rail potential, we're referring to the potential ridership that could be gained with good transbay service.

Each blue dot here represents a community of people who could be served by new transbay rail service. The size of the dot indicates how many more people in that area would take a train across the Bay if they had access to more convenient and connected rail service.

The highest unmet transbay rail potential is for areas near the crossing, including locations throughout San Francisco, and locations in the East Bay between Richmond and San Leandro.

We're also seeing large amounts of unmet potential for transbay rail service in places further out – for example, Vallejo, San Ramon, Fremont, and San Mateo County. New transbay service could translate to many new rail riders from those areas.

Note that just because a place has a large dot does not necessarily mean that Link21 will necessarily serve it. Unmet potential is just one of many factors that will go into deciding the Link21 program. And while a large dot indicates significant unmet potential, it may be that other transit options would serve it better.

One last note about these maps. You might notice that this data is “equity weighted.” In the Market Analysis, we placed extra emphasis on considering underserved communities as part of our commitment to delivering equitable rail improvements.

The takeaway here is that there’s unmet transbay rail potential in many places across the entire Megaregion.

18 of 46

Transbay Unmet Rail Potential� Mileage Weighted� Equity Weighted

Salinas/Santa Cruz/Monterey

Stockton/Lodi

Fremont/Union City

Central/South San Mateo Co

San Ramon

Sacramento Co

Stanislaus Co

West San Francisco

Central/South Santa Clara Co

Tracy/Manteca/Lathrop

North Oakland/Emeryville

Central Contra Costa Co

Martinez

Fairfield/Vacaville

Vallejo

West Contra Costa Co

22 | Item V.5

18

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

19 of 46

Markets: What We’ve Learned from You

Summer 2021 Workshops

2021 Co-creation Workshops

Top 5 destinations in the Megaregion

“If you could take a train easily and safely to anywhere in the Megaregion, where would you go?”

Respondents: 340

Respondents: 407

19

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

20 of 46

Building Block 2

20

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Camille

Thanks, Andrew.

As you may know by now, Link21’s number one goal is to transform the passenger experience to make travelling by rail better. We can do that by improving train service.

The passenger experience starts when you plan your trip and continues from the moment you leave your house to catch a train until the moment you reach your destination. The passenger experience includes getting to and from the station, ease of payment, waiting for the train, riding the train, up until you get off and reach the end of your trip.

When we refer to service, we are generally talking about the parts of the transportation experience such as travel time, frequency, hours of service, and reliability, for which bus and rail operators are responsible.

We know that service improvements that can address current issues can transform the rail system into being much more convenient and accessible in the future.

21 of 46

Link21 Service Improvements

Longer Hours – additional service on nights and weekends

Reliability – timely departure and arrival

Faster Travel Times – quick arrival at your destination

Frequency – shorter wait times and better transfers

Convenience – easier transfers and better connections

More Capacity – less overcrowding

Equity – increased rail access for underserved neighborhoods

Resiliency – decreased recovery time from service disruptions

Clean and green trains – greenhouse gas reductions

21 /41

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

22 of 46

Service: What We’ve Learned from You�

“Tell us your three most important service goals”

Summer 2021 Workshops

Link21 Mobility Survey, 2020

Sample size: 2,045

Respondents: 407

“What do you value most when choosing rail?”

22

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

23 of 46

Service: What We’ve Learned from You�

Top priorities mentioned

Co-Creation Round 1

Respondents: 350

FPO

23

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

24 of 46

Service Tradeoffs

Faster travel time versus a one-seat ride

24

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Camille

The reality about designing top-notch rail service is that there are tradeoffs we need to balance between things like travel time, serving more stations, or offering direct service. Here are some examples of those tradeoffs.

Our first example is

Having faster travel times versus a one-seat ride

We all like the idea of boarding a train once and taking it straight to the final destination. We call this a one-seat ride. However, a system that only has one-seat rides will be more limited in the service it can provide.

The alternative is to design transfers so that it’s quick and easy to get onto the next train. A passenger’s overall travel time may be shorter because trains can run more frequently.

We recognize transfers can be difficult for some riders. But we’ll look at opportunities to improve ease of travel for passengers including having the next train waiting for you, or having short walking distances, and making sure the station is accessible.

25 of 46

Service Tradeoffs

Service to many stations versus express service

25

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

26 of 46

Take the Link21 Service Survey!

Link21Program.org/Survey

26

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

27 of 46

Building Block 3

27

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

28 of 46

Fast, Clean, Connected Trains Are the Future

BART runs electric trains
We’re assuming all trains in California will be zero-emission by 2040

28

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

29 of 46

New Train Technology, New Choices

Lighter trains go faster
Faster trains mean convenient intercity connections

29

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

30 of 46

Building Block 4

30

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

31 of 46

New Transbay Crossing Unlocks Rail Potential

[Animation in progress]

31

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

32 of 46

What’s next?

Markets

Public input on service

Now

Service

32

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

33 of 46

What’s next?

Public input on draft service concepts

Markets

Public input on service

Spring 2022

Now

Service

33

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

34 of 46

What’s next?

Public input on draft service concepts

Markets

Train Technology

Public input on service

Spring 2022

Now

Service

Infrastructure

2022-2023

Public input on technology and infrastructure

34

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

35 of 46

We need your input!

Ask us a question during our live Q&A.
Take our Service Improvements survey at Link21Program.org/survey.
Take our fun travel patterns quiz Link21Program.org/quiz.
Visit Link21Program.org to learn more and sign up for updates.
Join us at an upcoming station event!

35

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Sadie

In fact, there’s a variety of ways to get involved and provide your input.

Ask us a question during our live Q&A. In just a second the Q&A will go live and we’ll show you how to submit a question.

Take our Service Improvements survey at Link21Program.org/survey.

Take the travel patterns quiz. This is a fun one. Show us what you know about travel in Northern California with this mini quiz. You’ll find it on the Link21 website.

Visit Link21Program.org to learn more and sign up for updates. We hope to be out in the community where we can hear from you.

[Version 1 – Live Q&A]

Thank you so much for being here with us. Now, we’re going to hand it off to you, the public, for our live Q&A.

[Version 2 – web version]

Thank you so much for being here and please stay in touch!

36 of 46

Thank you! �For more information visit�Link21Program.org

36

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

37 of 46

Q & A�We’re here to answer your questions��For more information visit�Link21Program.org

FPO

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

38 of 46

Listen by phone in other languages

Para escuchar esta presentación en español, llame al 510-826-4040
如需收聽中文演講，請致電 �510-949-8857
To listen to this presentation in English, call 510-650-3704

38 /41

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

39 of 46

Having trouble? �Call for tech support

Para soporte técnico, llame al �855-905-5465
如需中文技術支持，請致電 �855-905-5465
For tech support in English, �call 855-905-5465

39 /41

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

40 of 46

Your feedback �and participation �is important to us

On a desktop, polls will pop up to the right of the presentation
On mobile, scroll down �to participate
Or call this number: �855-905-5465

On your right

Scroll

down

40 /41

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

41 of 46

Meet Our Q&A Panel

Sadie Graham�Link21 Acting Director�BART �

Nicole Franklin�Public Engagement Manager�BART

Camille Tsao�Link21 Program Lead �Capitol Corridor

Linton Johnson�Strategic Programs Manager�BART

FPO

41

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

42 of 46

Q & A�We’re here to answer your questions��For more information visit�Link21Program.org

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

43 of 46

Recap: Ways to Get Involved

Take our Service Improvements survey at Link21Program.org/survey.
Take our fun travel patterns quiz Link21Program.org/quiz.
Visit Link21Program.org to learn more and sign up for updates.
Join us at an upcoming station event!

43

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

44 of 46

Thank you! �For more information visit�Link21Program.org

44

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

45 of 46

Service Tradeoffs

A one-seat ride versus train transfers
Frequent service versus performance and cost

45

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

46 of 46

Infrastructure Constraints and Opportunities

46

May 2021, Rev #

DRAFT-DELIBERATIVE

Sadie

Our team is considering many major infrastructure constraints and opportunities to transform our rail system. Not all of these will be included in Link21. Some may be taken on by some of our rail partners in the Megaregion.

Here’s just a few examples:

First and foremost, we’ve got the transbay crossing between Oakland and San Francisco. We’ve already talked about the crossing – so let me talk about a couple of others.

You may not realize, but Union Pacific Railroad actually owns most of the Regional Rail train track in the Megaregion. Passenger rail has to share tracks with freight. Freight gets priority here. We’re exploring opportunities to increase passenger rail service along routes owned by Union Pacific.

Another opportunity here includes the 100-year-old Benicia-Martinez rail bridge. Every time a ship needs to pass, the drawbridge opens to let the ship go through, which stops rail traffic.

The Richmond to Martinez Shoreline route is curvy and slow. It’s also owned by UP and requires frequent maintenance. In the future this area may be subject to sea level rise.

The Jack London segment in Oakland shares the street with heavy rail, cars, and pedestrians. This is also the southern entrance to the Port of Oakland – so there’s lots of freight traffic here. This limits capacity and creates conflicts between competing modes.

And finally, the Oakland Wye. All BART lines go through the Wye. It’s a major pinchpoint and it’s low speed. We’re not considering any Link21 projects that would worsen this pinchpoint. In fact, we’re going to try and make this better.