06/01/2026
The Merced FOCUS attended today’s meeting for the California High Speed Rail Authority’s board, who just voted unanimously on the project’s revised draft business plan.
Despite longstanding plans to build the Merced station in downtown, the revised draft plan proposes putting the station roughly four miles away from the urban core, on a rural swath of land near East Mission Avenue and Highway 99.
California state law, under Senate Bill 198, mandates that the first 171-mile operating segment of the train be built from Bakersfield to downtown Merced specifically.
Even though the draft plan was approved, any changes to Senate Bill 198 would require legislative approval. In other words, moving the proposed station outside downtown Merced cannot happen unless SB 198 is ammended by state lawmakers.
The Merced FOCUS caught up with Senator Anna Caballero, who sits on the authority board, after the meeting. Caballero’s district includes Merced.
The senator only had a few minutes to talk, but she gave her perspective on whether the proposed station should be built miles away from Merced’s downtown core.
