Kings–Tulare Regional Station

Kings–Tulare Regional Station
Location	Central Valley Highway outside Hanford, California
Coordinates	36°20′07″N 119°35′32″W / 36.335141°N 119.592321°W
Owned by	California High-Speed Rail Authority
History
Opening	2018 (Amtrak service) 2025 (High-Speed Rail service)
Services
Preceding station   California High-Speed Rail   Following station Fresno toward Merced or San Francisco   Phase I (under construction)   Bakersfield toward Anaheim
Location
Kings–Tulare Regional Station Location within California

Kings–Tulare Regional Station is a proposed California High-Speed Rail station serving Kings County and Tulare County, California. It would be located near the intersection of Hanford Expressway and Central Valley Highway,^[1] just east of the city limits of Hanford and less than 20 miles (32 km) west of the larger city of Visalia. The construction of the station has been controversial, with Tulare County supporting the station while Kings County, where the station would be located, has strongly opposed the entire California High-Speed Rail project.^[2][3] The station is part of the Initial Construction Segment expected to be completed by 2017.^[4]

History

The current Amtrak San Joaquin service in the Central Valley uses the BNSF Railway tracks through the center of Hanford, stopping at an existing station there. However, a high-speed rail route along this alignment was strongly opposed by Hanford city officials, who said that it would disrupt the city's historic downtown. This meant that only routes that bypassed Hanford city limits were considered. An alignment along Route 99 was ruled out due to the extra expense and uncertain cooperation from Union Pacific Railroad, which has its own track in the vicinity. This left routes through rural areas, which ran into opposition from farmers whose land would be taken.^[5]

In October 2011 the Kings County Board of Supervisors voted to oppose all possible alignments through that county.^[6] In December 2011 the Kings County Association of Governments turned down a station planning grant that it had already been approved for due to opposition within the county. Tulare County and the City of Visalia continued to pursue a similar grant, leading to complaints from Kings County officials that Tulare County was sidelining Kings County's jurisdiction.^[2] Hanford officials also complained that the opening of the high-speed rail station would lead to a loss of service to the existing downtown Amtrak station, negatively affecting the city's tourism industry due to the new station being 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the city center.^[7]

The initial plans called for the high-speed rail line to diverge from the BNSF line and run east of Hanford city limits, with a west bypass not considered due to increased impacts on wetlands and farmland, negative effects on potential development between Hanford and Lemoore, and increased distance from Visalia. However, in October 2011 the California High-Speed Rail Authority recalled its draft environmental impact report to produce a new one that would consider both routes.^[8] An initial report in April 2013 indicated that the western alternative with below-grade tracks was preferred.^[9][10] However, in November 2013 the Authority approved the original eastern alignment for largely the same reasons that it was initially preferred,^[11] along with the discovery that the groundwater in the western area was only 10 feet (3.0 m) to 15 feet (4.6 m) below ground level due to an impermeable clay formation, making a below-grade track unfeasible there.^[10]

In August 2015, the Hanford City Council rejected contributing $100,000 to a planning grant that included a potential light rail line connecting the high-speed rail station to the centers of Hanford and Visalia. Tulare County had already approved its $100,000 contribution, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority had promised $600,000, but Hanford's rejection killed the entire grant. Tulare County and Visalia officials indicated that they would seek funding to plan for a connectivity study potentially including light rail even without the assistance of Kings County or Hanford.^[12][13]

References

1. "Final Environmental Document for South Valley High-Speed Rail Section Ready for Board Action". Valley Voice. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
2. Nidever, Seth (2011-12-07). "Kings, Tulare counties spar over station". Hanford Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
3. Calefati, Jessica (2014-01-10). "Tale of two bullet-train cities: Hanford, Visalia spar over $68 billion project". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
4. Weikel, Dan; Vartabedian, Ralph (2015-06-08). "First phase of bullet train is cut due to Bakersfield, Shafter disputes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
5. Connell, Rich (2010-12-27). "Central Valley farmers take issue with proposed high-speed rail route". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
6. Nidever, Seth (2011-10-12). "Supes say no to all county HSR routes". Hanford Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
7. Yamashita, Eiji; Nidever, Seth (2011-10-05). "High-speed rail could nix Amtrak station". Hanford Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
8. Sheehan, Tim (2011-10-06). "High-speed rail plan in Hanford to be revised". California Watch. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
9. Sheehan, Tim (2013-04-03). "Engineers suggest west-of-Hanford route for high-speed trains". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
10. "High Speed Rail: East Of Hanford Route Now Favored". Sierra2theSea. 2013. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
11. "Board selects high-speed rail route east of Hanford". The Business Journal. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
12. Lindt, John (2015-08-05). "Hanford council nixes rail station planning grant". The Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
13. Camarena, Andrea (2015-10-07). "Visalia on-board with High Speed Rail study". The Foothills Sun-Gazette. Retrieved 2015-10-28.