The high-speed train system to be constructed pursuant to this chapter shall be designed to achieve the following characteristics:
(a) Electric trains that are capable of sustained maximum revenue operating speeds of no less than 200 miles per hour.
(b) Maximum nonstop service travel times for each corridor that shall not exceed the following:
(1) San Francisco-Los Angeles Union Station: two hours, 40 minutes.
(2) Oakland-Los Angeles Union Station: two hours, 40 minutes.
(3) San Francisco-San Jose: 30 minutes.
(4) San Jose-Los Angeles: two hours, 10 minutes.
(5) San Diego-Los Angeles: one hour, 20 minutes.
(6) Inland Empire-Los Angeles: 30 minutes.
(7) Sacramento-Los Angeles: two hours, 20 minutes.
(c) Achievable operating headway (time between successive trains) shall be five minutes or less.
(d) The total number of stations to be served by high-speed trains for all of the corridors described in subdivision (b) of Section 2704.04 shall not exceed 24. There shall be no station between the Gilroy station and the Merced station.
(e) Trains shall have the capability to transition intermediate stations, or to bypass those stations, at mainline operating speed.
(f) For each corridor described in subdivision (b), passengers shall have the capability of traveling from any station on that corridor to any other station on that corridor without being required to change trains.
(g) In order to reduce impacts on communities and the environment, the alignment for the high-speed train system shall follow existing transportation or utility corridors to the extent feasible and shall be financially viable, as determined by the authority.
(h) Stations shall be located in areas with good access to local mass transit or other modes of transportation.
(i) The high-speed train system shall be planned and constructed in a manner that minimizes urban sprawl and impacts on the natural environment.
(j) Preserving wildlife corridors and mitigating impacts to wildlife movement, where feasible as determined by the authority, in order to limit the extent to which the system may present an additional barrier to wildlife’s natural movement.
(Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 267, Sec. 9. Approved in Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, election.)