Both the California High-Speed Rail Authority and its federal partner, the Federal Railroad Administration, initiated the environmental review process for the project's northern section: the 51-mile line between San Francisco and San Jose.
On May 9, 2016, the agencies announced three public scoping meetings during the public commenting period to last until June 10, 2016: May 23 in San Francisco, May 24 in San Mateo, and May 25 in Mountain View, California.
The preparation of the San Francisco to San Jose environmental document for the blended system will involve a scoping and public outreach process; development of preliminary engineering designs; and assessment of environmental effects associated with the construction, operation and maintenance of the high-speed rail system including track, ancillary facilities and stations, along the Caltrain corridor.
The San Francisco to San Jose Project Section is part of the first phase of the California high-speed rail system connecting the cities of San Francisco, Millbrae (San Francisco Airport) and San Jose on an electrified Caltrain Corridor with proposed stations at San Francisco 4th and King and/or Transbay Transit Center, near the San Francisco Airport and San Jose.