In a meeting Thursday morning, the Palo Alto City Council’s High-Speed Rail Committee voted to change its name to the “City Council Rail Committee,” in an effort to tie together the future of both the high-speed and commuter rail in the city.

Though the committee was initially formed to examine and critique the state’s plans for a high-speed rail corridor, several factors pushed it to consider the Caltrain commuter-train service as well. The committee cited an overall funding struggle as one factor. The fact that Caltrain and the proposed light rail service would run on the same tracks is another.

Specifically, the committee hopes to use its clout to influence plans to fund the Caltrain, a commuter service that links Palo Alto to San Francisco and San Jose. Unlike other public transportation services in the Bay Area, including BART and San Francisco’s Muni, Caltrain lacks a dedicated funding source.

Including Caltrain in its mandate could also put the Rail Committee in a better bargaining position for use of the tracks with Caltrain, which currently has the right-of-way.

The committee will continue to investigate the proposed design and cost of high-speed passenger rail, which will connect Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego. The San Francisco-San Jose corridor would run through Palo Alto.

– Kabir Sawhney