Funding challenged for train from Union City

FREMONT

A civil grand jury report questions whether Valley Transit Authority should continue funding a proposed train line that would run from Union City to Redwood City.

In a three-page report released last week, the Santa Clara County civil grand jury recommended that the VTA re-evaluate its $44 million commitment to Dumbarton Rail Bridge Project in light of a major funding shortfall and the failure so far to obtain a right of way for rail track controlled by Union Pacific.

The VTA is still reviewing the report issued last week, spokeswoman Linh Hoang said.

"As the report notes, VTA board members and staff have expressed concerns ... about the project's continued feasibility," Hoang said.

The proposed Dumbarton Rail project would operate trains from the Union City BART station across the Bay to Redwood City and then to San Jose or San Francisco.

The line has been a major bone of contention between Union City and Fremont. Union City desperately wants the project to go forward to cement its BART station as a regional rail hub. Fremont, meanwhile, fears the line would divert money away from extending BART to San Jose and would result in more freight rail passing through the Niles district.

The project ran into trouble two years ago when cost estimates nearly doubled, from $300 million to $595 million. The Dumbarton Rail Committee, which oversees development of the line, is considering building the line in segments as funds become available. Dumbarton Rail stops would include the Union City BART station, the Centerville station in Fremont and a future Newark station at Willow Street.

The grand jury cited recent reports that commuter traffic delays along the Dumbarton Bridge Corridor have decreased in recent years and that the rail line has lower ridership potential than first believed.

"The original assumptions for the county's participation in the Dumbarton Rail Corridor project are not valid, and the voters of the county and the VTA should question the county's participation in this regional project," the grand jury wrote.

The VTA is legally required to respond to a grand jury report within 90 days. So far, the transit agency has allocated $2 million of its $44 million commitment to the project. Future allocations, Hoang said, will depend on the findings of an ongoing analysis of the rail line.

"Before we approve any more funds, we have to be prudent and make sure it's a feasible project," she said.