High Speed Rail Supporter,

We've gotten almost 11,000 signatures in a few days.  We need 89,169 more signatures by March 20, 2017 to get a response from the White Houses.

Please sign this online petition to the White House asking the FTA to approve funding for Caltrain'electrification:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/support-9600-american-jobs-tell-fta-approve-funding-caltrain-electrification

The petition urges President Donald Trump to reverse Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao's decision to hold up a $647 million federal grant for electrifying Caltrain's train system.

This is an urgent issue.  Caltrain has been working on this grant for years now.  It was set for approval last December but had to go through a 60 day review period, during which time Trump was sworn in as President. 

Trump has said infrastructure and jobs are a keystone of his administration. Caltrain electrification will create over 9,600 American jobs, not only in California, but in other states as well, including Utah, Texas, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The petition at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/support-9600-american-jobs-tell-fta-approve-funding-caltrain-electrification must obtain 100,000 signatures by March 20 to be considered.

"This decision is incomprehensible and will cause delays and millions of dollars of additional costs that could jeopardize the entire project," said Sen. Diane Feinstein and Sen. Kamala Harris in a joint statement.

Caltrain said the $2 billion project would allow it to replace its aging diesel locomotives with reliable, faster, quieter, environmentally friendly electric units.

California has pledged $713 million to the project from bonds approved for the high speed rail project by California voters. The future high-speed trains would be propelled by the power system installed by Caltrain along its corridor between San Francisco and San Jose.

Caltrain is the seventh-largest commuter rail system in the U.S., with more than 60,000 riders per day on its 77-mile system.  Caltrain officials said the agency has already spent $150 million on the project and has obtained $1.3 billion of federal, state, and local funding.

The FTA's  grant is the final piece of the funding needed for the electrification project.  This delay puts the project in serious jeopardy.

Caltrain signed construction contracts in September that set a deadline of March 1 for going ahead with the work. 

Defunding Caltrain electrification is a nightmare scenario for Caltrain's transportation system and the future of California's high speed rail project.   Please help us reverse course on this disaster. 

Sign the petition at: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/support-9600-american-jobs-tell-fta-approve-funding-caltrain-electrification