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Merced officials and residents urge High-Speed Rail Authority to keep downtown station; board delays business plan
Summary
Dozens of Merced-area residents, elected officials and local organizations urged the California High-Speed Rail Authority on April 29 to keep a full downtown Merced station, warning that a downgraded or relocated platform would cost jobs and connectivity; the board postponed action on the draft business plan to May to review public comment.
Dozens of Merced residents, business owners and local officials told the California High-Speed Rail Authority on April 29 that downgrading or relocating the planned downtown Merced station would cost jobs and undermine regional connectivity.
Merced Mayor Matt Serratto opened the public comment period by thanking the board and saying Merced remains a committed partner in the project and supportive of the Merced–Bakersfield initial operating segment. "This project is vitally important to the city of Merced," he said.
Speakers from community groups and local businesses said changes outlined in the draft 2026 business plan fall short of the project's intended benefits. "Downgrading and relocating the Merced station will have real and lasting consequences for families like mine," Faith in the Valley organizer Leticia Valencia told the board. Valencia said the proposed scaled-back platform and an offsite location would cost "thousands of jobs" tied to construction and long‑term economic development and could leave passengers exposed to extreme heat without adequate canopy.
Norma Cardona, a UC Merced alum and downtown business owner, urged the board to "honor the state law and commit to a full downtown Merced station," arguing that a downtown hub was essential to connect UC Merced students, workers and residents to job centers and to support local economic mobility.
Alex Carrillo, citing a UC Merced Community and Labor Center survey, said the majority of local respondents were not fully aware of the project but many indicated they would use the train once built; he also warned that proposed funding mechanisms such as data centers could strain the valley's water and utility resources.
Caltrain representative Brendan Repicky asked the Authority to address technical and legal questions in the draft plan, including the exclusion of the San José–Gilroy segment from the budget and uncertainty about the Salesforce Transit Center northern terminus, and said those issues should be resolved before approval.
Why it matters: Merced speakers argued that a downtown station was meant to anchor redevelopment, support small businesses and preserve multimodal connections to ACE and Amtrak. Several speakers said communities had relied on earlier promises of a downtown hub when making private investment and planning decisions.
Board action and next steps: Chair Tom Richards told the board the business plan would be moved to the May meeting to allow additional time to consider the volume of public comments and coordinate with the administration and the state budget cycle. The board did not vote on the business plan at the April 29 meeting.
What to watch: The Authority will return the business plan to the board in May after staff review of public comments and coordination with state fiscal timelines.
