High-speed rail board to weigh in on revised California plan

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2015 file photo, a full-scale mock-up of a high-speed train is displayed at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. The board that oversees California’s massive high-speed rail project is meeting in Sacramento on Thursday afternoon, April 28, 2016, to consider a new $64 billion business plan. The updated plan calls for a station in Merced and the first stretch to go from the Central Valley to the San Jose area. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2015 file photo, a full-scale mock-up of a high-speed train is displayed at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. The board that oversees California’s massive high-speed rail project is meeting in Sacramento on Thursday afternoon, April 28, 2016, to consider a new $64 billion business plan. The updated plan calls for a station in Merced and the first stretch to go from the Central Valley to the San Jose area. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

By Associated Press April 28, 2016 2 min read

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – The board that oversees California’s high-speed rail project is expected to approve a revised plan calling for a $64 billion approach that sends the train from the Central Valley to the San Jose area before it heads to Southern California.

The board will meet Thursday in Sacramento, a week after postponing a planned vote to make changes to the revised business plan.

Central Valley lawmakers and activists complained vocally after a planned stop in Merced already under construction was left out of the most recent proposal for the bullet train released this winter, prompting officials to reverse course again last week.

The changes also include adding a station in Wasco, near Bakersfield.

Rail officials have pitched the first segment between the Central Valley and San Jose for $21 billion as the only way to ensure a useable segment gets built with the existing funding available.