Lawsuit against Caltrain, HSR falls short

A Sacramento judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against both Caltrain and the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which claimed Union Pacific consent was needed for any rail right-of-way improvements. Superior Court Judge Kevin Culhane said the suit has no merit to proceed to trial.

Two property owners near rail right-of-way in Menlo Park, Calif., filed suit last August; both claim they have proven the case that UP has veto power over any project in northern California.

In legal filings, both Caltrain and high speed rail attorneys acknowledged the assertion. “(Caltrain) acknowledges that high speed rail, generally speaking, cannot be constructed without Union Pacific’s consent and will not enter into a contract to do so without first obtaining Union Pacific’s consent,” Caltrain attorneys said in legal filings seeking to dismiss the case.

UP has said it would not seek to block construction of the project and, while it is opposed to the project south of San Jose where it owns all right-of-way, it was willing to work with the rail authority on sharing the rail line from San Francisco to San Jose.

Retired San Mateo County Judge Quentin Kopp, a board member of the authority and a longtime rail advocate, saw the decision as a victory for Caltrain and the authority. “It was the most frivolous lawsuit I could remember in 50 years as a trial lawyer and trial judge,” he said.

Caltrain attorney David Miller said the agency has yet to ask Union Pacific for its consent but fully expects the freight company to give it. “If UP felt its rights were being violated, they would have been the ones that brought the suit or intervened in the suit,” Miller said. “This is our corridor. We have a good relationship with UP.”