All of a sudden, city’s plan for high speed rail falls into doubt

 

Shock. Dismay. A breakdown in trust. Thoughts of betrayal. 

After years of excited anticipation and planning — site approvals, impact reports, community engagement — the timing and scope of a high speed rail station in downtown Merced is in doubt. 

Not to mention designs for interchanges with two other commuter rail lines, a job-producing maintenance hub, and tourism opportunities for a promising Main Street district in a growing college town that’s also considered a gateway to Yosemite National Park. 

The thought that this city’s most-talked-about transportation dream might be deferred has been overwhelming to many, and is testing the relationship between the California High Speed Rail Authority and local leaders.

And it all started just a few weeks ago. 

On Aug. 22, the rail authority released a report that suggested alternative routes to the initial HSR operating segment in the northern valley. The 2025 Supplemental Project Update Report detailed a strategy to remove Merced entirely from the startup line, and to create a less costly, more profitable route from Bakersfield or Palmdale up to Madera, and then across to Gilroy. 

The news was stunning for high speed rail supporters in Merced County, and it added insult to injury because the rail authority’s top partners in Merced were not consulted before the report’s release. 

“We felt blindsighted,” said Frank Quintero, Merced’s deputy city manager and longtime HSR point man. Quintero and other local leaders expressed their disappointment and hope for a more positive turnaround during an urgent visit to the  board in Sacramento on Aug. 28. 

Last week, on Sept. 5, rail authority representatives traveled to Merced to discuss issues with city and county leaders during a couple closed-door meetings at City Hall and the County Administration Building.

The reports out of closed sessions, so to speak, were not all that optimistic.  

“To say it was a good [meeting], I would be lying to you,” said Josh Pedrozo, a member of the Merced County Board of Supervisors, during a report this week to his colleagues on the dais. “Currently they look like they are changing direction.” 

He added, “Their level of communication has been very poor, to say the least, and that was very much brought to their attention. We have worked very hard to try and stay in the loop, and to communicate with them. Every time we try, it just falls on deaf ears. So it’s really frustrating with the direction they are headed. This is just another example of one of these organizations like High Speed Rail, or really the State sometimes, kind of looking at the valley as a flyover, and it’s really unfortunate because here in the Central Valley, we feed the entire world, and yet we get passed over all the time.”

Pedrozo said the Sept. 5 meeting with rail authority officials included County Executive Officer Mark Hendrickson, Community and Economic Development Director Mark Mimms and Assistant Director of Public Works Lindsey Johnson. 

The rail authority was reportedly represented by Chief of Staff Mark Tollefson, Statewide Regional Director Basem Muallem, Chief of External Affairs Peter Whippy and Diana Gomez, senior project director/vice president for the HNTB Corporation.  

Across town at City Hall, the rail authority team met with Mayor Matt Serratto, Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Boyle and Councilmember Shane Smith, along with City Manager Scott McBride, Deputy City Manager Frank Quintero and Economic Development Associate Mandy Williams.

In a Facebook entry posted the next day, Councilman Smith reacted to the meeting by saying he believed the rail authority wants to genuinely “move forward as partners,” but he added: “I also believe the Authority has decided to diminish Merced’s position on the HSR line if permitted by the Legislature.” 

Smith was more blunt about the situation during a phone interview on Tuesday with the Times. “I think the new High Speed Rail Authority leadership has decided to cut Merced out of the map,” he said. “I think they are scrambling to justify their existence, and so they’re basically rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.”

 

Cost perspectives
& protecting interests

The initial segment from Bakersfield to Merced was projected to be open for service by 2032, but construction costs have skyrocketed to the tune of more than $36 billion.  

According to the rail authority’s latest report, the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment will not be able to cover its total operational costs — amounting to a loss of $3.8 billion over the course of 40 years. 

As alternatives, the report suggested more profitable routes, including Palmdale to Gilroy (via Madera) that would cost more to build (about $87 billion) but would result in increased ridership and revenue ($98 billion over 40 years). A Bakersfield to Gilroy route is a bit more affordable to build at $54 billion, but again seen as more profitable over the long term by removing Merced from the equation. 

In any case, a pursuit of these “more profitable” plans would require approval from the State Legislature. 

Originally, the voter-approved Proposition 1A in 2008 — a $9.9 billion bond measure — mandated a high speed rail station in Merced as part of the overall system connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco through the Central Valley. In 2022, California Senate Bill 198 specifically mandated the rail authority to prioritize the completion of the 171-mile segment from Merced to Bakersfield. 

According to a Fresno Bee article published this week, the rail authority stated in an email that it is “committed to building in Merced in the sequence determined by state law — and under current law we’re prioritizing Merced-Bakersfield. We’re also providing options to the legislature and administration to consider going forward.”

The Bee went on to quote lawmakers representing Merced who said they will oppose any efforts to delay the construction of Merced’s high-speed rail station. 

State Sen. Anna Caballero told the Bee: “We have no credibility if, at the drop of the hat, we can change plans and leave communities high and dry that have made plans on the promise that the train is going to go from Bakersfield to Merced.” 

State Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria said she “cannot support any piece of legislation that would take away (or delay) local resources, and investments from my district.”

Merced leaders are saying they will do their part to focus and support efforts in Sacramento to protect the Merced station.  

“I know our representatives are on board with Merced County and what’s best for our region,” Supervisor Pedrozo told the Times. “You have to look at our impact on California’s economy, and other things like our number of super commuters traveling 2 1/2 hours to get to work every day, and alleviating traffic and greenhouse gas emissions on our highways.”

Merced planners, including City Manager McBride, are highlighting a great amount of time and resources that have already been invested into the downtown station. A location has been established and detailed between 15th and 16th streets and O and R streets. The Merced Intermodal Track Connection Project (MITC) has also formed to create a transportation hub at the station that would connect high speed rail to the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) passenger rail system, as well as Amtrak, and allow for a nearby maintenance yard to be built. 

In 2023, Merced received a $500,000 grant to help shape the downtown station plan. A citizen advisory committee has since taken shape amid the backdrop of the city’s pursuit to update its General Plan. Businesses in the project’s right of way have made plans to relocate. All assume a station will be built in the initial segment of California’s high speed rail project.     

Merced Mayor Matt Serratto points to “new leadership” on the rail authority as not being well-connected to the body of work that has gone on in Merced. “We’re way down the line of this,” the mayor was quoted in a Merced Focus article. “We’ve been working on this for a long time.”

During the most recent City Council meeting, Councilman Smith said:“If this multi-billion dollar investment were to disappear, I guarantee you we will feel the impacts of that.” 

Later, while talking with the Times, Smith suggested there could be possible litigation if the authority and the State of California fails to live up to promises made to the city. 

 

Public outcry

Though the public did not receive notice of last Friday’s closed-door meetings with the rail authority, scheduling details reportedly spread through an email chain of community leaders and boosters. 

As a result, a small group of protesters showed up at the main entrance to City Hall in hopes of being seen by state rail authorities. They held signs in support of a high speed rail station in Merced. However, rail authority members were reportedly ushered into a side door. 

Annissa Fragoso of the Hispanic Chamber, and Ernie Ochoa, a local Realtor, were among the civic group. UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz and County Superintendent of Schools Steve Tietjen also made brief appearances. 

Said Ochoa, “The reason why we are here is to support the high speed rail. We want it to stay here in our community as it was originally passed through legislation. The voters voted to keep high speed rail here in Merced, and we are here to support that as concerned community members.

“A lot of the business owners here in downtown Merced, mainly the ones on and near 16th Street, where the proposed station would be built, are going to be highly affected by whatever decision is made. I know, personally, some business owners who have already started to make plans to relocate — securing other locations and spaces — in anticipation that they would have to accommodate the construction.”

He added, “We need everyone in the community, who are able, to become our boots on the ground, to voice their concerns and opinions, in order to keep high speed rail in Merced.”