| Cross Valley Corridor | |
| Map State: | uncollapsed |
The Cross Valley Corridor is a proposed passenger rail service in the California Central Valley, connecting Visalia, Hanford, Porterville, and surrounding cities to each other and California High-Speed Rail's planned Kings–Tulare Regional Station.[1] [2]
The 80miles route is proposed to run east–west, mostly along existing tracks. These rights-of way were originally constructed in the 1870s and 1880s by the Southern Pacific Railroad, which founded all the cities along the corridor when it first laid tracks, with the exception of the older city of Visalia. The tracks are currently owned by the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), with the San Joaquin Valley Railroad operating on nearly all of the corridor, except for a portion of the Union Pacific mainline connecting the eastern and western branches near Goshen.
The specific subdivisions projected for re-use as the CVC are:
The projected termini are in Porterville (east) and Huron (west); the route follows SR 198 and SR 65.[3] The easternmost of the route between Strathmore and Porterville were abandoned and the tracks pulled up, but the land was purchased by the City of Porterville to preserve the right-of-way.
| No. | Name | Location | Sub | City | County | Notes / Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huron | Lassen & 9th | Fresno | |||
| 2 | NAS Lemoore | N of Franklin Ave | Kings | Serving Naval Air Station Lemoore | ||
| 3 | West Hills College Lemoore | Near Bush St | Lemoore | Serving West Hills College Lemoore | ||
| 4 | Downtown Lemoore | Heinlen & E | ||||
| 5 | Armona | 14th Ave | Armona | |||
| 6 | Hanford | Seventh & Santa Fe | Hanford | Connects to Amtrak (San Joaquins); two alternative sites to the east also proposed | ||
| 7 | Kings/Tulare | E of SR 43 & N of SR 198 | ||||
| 8 | Goshen | Ave 308 & Camp Dr | Tulare | Two alternative sites to the east also proposed. | ||
| 9 | Visalia Industrial | Goshen Rd, between American & Plaza | Visalia | Potential infill station, serving employment areas | ||
| 10 | Visalia Transit Center | E Oak & N Bridge | ||||
| 11 | Visalia (2) | Ben Maddox & K | Potential infill station, serving residential areas | |||
| 12 | Farmersville | W Front & N Farmersville | Farmersville | |||
| 13 | Exeter | N G & W Pine | Exeter | Alternative option at Chestnut & F | ||
| 14 | Lindsay | Sweetbriar Ave & Honolulu St | Lindsay | Alternative option nearby | ||
| 15 | Strathmore | Ave 196 & Orange Belt | Strathmore | |||
| 16 | Porterville Transit Center | N D & W Oak | Porterville |
In a projected Phase 1 to occur within ten years of opening CAHSR service, existing and new local bus services from cities along the projected CVC route would be coordinated to run to the planned Kings/Tulare high-speed rail station.[3] Phase 2 would replace bus services within 20 years of opening CAHSR for the central portion of CVC, between Lemoore and Visalia, and open a rail maintenance facility in that segment.[3] Phase 3, set to begin more than 20 years after CAHSR, would complete the entire CVC rail service; within Tulare County, bus services would connect the CVC station in Visalia with local communities.[3] The cost of the total project was estimated at to 489 million, split approximately 50% to Phase 3, 48% to Phase 2, and 2% to Phase 1.[3]
Initial studies of a passenger rail service were conducted in the mid-1990s.[4] A Cross Valley Rail Corridor Joint Powers Authority was founded, which raised $14.2 million from government and private sources to resurface the rail corridor in 2002–2003 to accommodate heavier freight traffic, and keep the line in operation in preparation for a passenger rail service.[5] [6] A 2004 study revisited passenger rail plans.[7]
California High-Speed Rail offered $600,000 in funding for a station planning grant including the Cross Valley Corridor, providing that the City of Hanford (which is in Kings County) and Tulare County each provided $100,000 in matching funds. Hanford and Kings County have strongly opposed the high-speed rail project, while Visalia and Tulare County have supported it. In August 2015, the Hanford City Council voted not to spend the funds, but Tulare County officials proceeded with the planning process.[8] [9]
In April 2017, the Tulare County Association of Governments released an existing conditions report. In June 2018, it approved a final plan.[10] [11] The line was included in the 2018 California State Rail Plan as part of the 2040 Vision.[12] [13] [14]