Merced city leaders tasked with clearing out a logjam on vital information regarding the future of High Speed Rail in Merced were expecting to meet this week with Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, State Senator Anna Caballero, and possibly Congressman Adam Gray.
Since the start of the year, dealings between Merced and the state’s High Speed Rail Authority have cooled over a strategy to drastically cut costs and relocate a planned downtown station to one located adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad track near Mission Avenue and Highway 99 in Southeast Merced.
Top city administrators and elected Council members on the Transportation Committee agree that High Speed Rail is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for Merced,” and there’s a strong desire for the city to be included in the Initial Operating Segment (IOS) that is set to open for passenger service between 2032 and 2033.
They say they are moving toward a more independent negotiation with the Authority, while asking for transparency on straight-forward details in order to better represent the community and make informed, long-term decisions.
“I don’t think we have done enough to really take control of the issue and view the Authority not as friends or partners, but as an arm’s length negotiating party,” said City Councilman Shane Smith who serves on the Transportation Committee. “Their job is to get the best rail line for the lowest cost. Our job is to get the best station location for the residents of Merced. Those aren’t necessarily opposed, but they’re not the same.
“We want to be able to negotiate with the Authority, with the help of our state and federal elected representatives, to put some more details around what a southeast station would look like. How do they expect it to be funded? What’s in it for us? What do we have to come up with?”
Merced leaders say a precise location for the station has yet to be designated. The city wants to see a transportation plan for the station, as well as an infrastructure plan with costs. They are also asking for more clarity on a funding strategy.
These questions remain, city officials point out, a few months after the passing of the 2026 HSR Business Plan, and multiple inquiries sent to the Authority.
Smith said he hopes talks with regional representatives like Soria and Caballero will yield a “willingness to negotiate.”
“We’re hoping that they are willing to back us up — whatever we decide to do as a city, and as a community — and we don’t get told: ‘Well this has already been settled in Sacramento, let’s just try and get you a better deal.'”
Smith added that the city lacks answers on whether a “Downtown Merced Station” is still a possibility under SB198, the existing law that prioritizes a Merced spot on the IOS. What is clear, Smith and other city officials say, is that the old vision of the station as a large transportation hub featuring ACE Rail, Amtrak, and a maintenance facility is no longer a reality. Those plans have been dropped by those rail agencies while HSR officials have raised doubts about having enough funding to create even a streamlined station in the downtown area.
“I would have preferred a downtown station, but I mostly prefer that Merced is on the High Speed Rail line in the next five years,” Smith told the Times.
Members of the Transportation Committee — which includes Mayor Matthew Serratto and Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Boyle — agreed with that sentiment while they are also pushing for informational forums for residents that include the presence of state officials. They hope to see progress on this in the coming weeks.
“I don’t want Merced to get passed by,” Boyle said. “I think our residents deserve a High Speed Rail station.”
Other Committee concerns, include so-called Data Centers that have been rumored to be under consideration as funding sources along the HSR route, and the establishment of state-controlled Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts within a one-half-mile radius of proposed station areas for the purpose of capturing property and potentially sales tax growth to fund construction and related commercialization activities. Mayor Serratto along with other mayors across the state have sent letters to the Authority in support of local control over this land use issue.
The committee also wants residents and state representatives to know that the City of Merced and Merced County government are working cooperatively on High Speed Rail progress for the region. They say both entities are requesting more, critical information, not delaying the project. They also say they are welcoming public feedback.
Stay tuned for more on High Speed Rail in Merced in the coming weeks.