Another news report based on a blog report, and I wouldn't say is all that "knowledgable", by a political columnist looking to fill column inches with a controversial topic. The columnist clearly appears to know little or nothing about PTC, or its applications to HSR.

PTC is a Federal mandate. And, may apply to HSR, when final rulemaking on HSR issues is completed. This is the same for the crashworthiness exemption for HSR, ain't going to happen.. This is because no politician in his right mind will ever want to show up at the first HSR wreck, in front of the press, having blown off crashworthiness for HSR???? Nor should they, since we perfectly able to design safe, compatible, interoperable equipment, and redundant safety systems like PTC.

PTC will also allow HSR to share trackage in the urbanized areas, and this is now consistent with the new direction being pushed by MTA and OCTA. The Governor's LOSSAN proposal, while somewhat goofy and simplistic, is also beginning to come to the conclusion that only shared/integrated operations at speeds of 110-125 may be financially feasible and/or compatible in the urbanized corridors. This would be completely compatible with the specifications that are being developed in CA for PTC, and consistent with Federal PTC requirements.

The current "risk assessment" at the CHSRA will probably begin to come to the same conclusions on the need to reexamine integrated shared use and interoperability in shared urban corridors. This would be based on the relatively poor cost effectiveness of building a separate set of tracks in these urban corridors. The narginal travel time increments saved for these exhorbitant costs for a seperated system are likely to be insignificant. The total benefits for all operators/passengers in the shared corridor segments, benefitting from shared use of the improvements, would also likely be far higher, since these current corridor users (LOSSAN, Caltrain, Metrolink, ACE, SJC, Capitols) which carry very large passenger volumes already.

Don't belief everything you read in the Penninsula papers.....