Brown to Sign HSR Funding Bill Today

Gov. Jerry Brown will be in San Francisco on Wednesday to sign the High-Speed Rail funding bill at one of the bullet train system's future stations.

Brown will visit the Transbay Transit Center construction site in the city's Financial District, where he will sign SB 1029, a bill that provides nearly $8 billion in funding to start construction on the high-speed rail system's spine, a 130-mile stretch of track in the Central Valley.

The funding measure, which was , also includes money for early investments in local transit systems in metropolitan areas at high-speed rail's "bookends," in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

Caltrain will receive nearly $600 million in high-speed rail funds to modernize the system, the transit agency's spokeswoman Christine Dunn said.

The Caltrain Modernization Project aims to replace its current diesel-powered engines with electric trains, which will run faster, more frequent and more environmentally friendly trains while preparing the transit corridor to accommodate a blended system with high-speed rail.

Brown will attend a signing ceremony at Union Station in Los Angeles before heading to San Francisco, where he is expected to sign SB 1029 at 550 Howard Street at 2 p.m.

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