(a) The department shall prepare a State Rail Plan. The plan shall be submitted to the California Transportation Commission for its advice six months prior to the submission of the plan pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d). Pursuant to Section 22702 of Title 49 of the United States Code, the department is designated as the state rail transportation authority to prepare, maintain, coordinate, and administer the plan.

(b) The plan shall contain all of the following:

(1) A statement of compliance with the requirements set forth in the federal Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-432; 49 U.S.C. § 22701 et seq.).

(2) Plans for a comprehensive and integrated statewide passenger rail system, including high-speed rail, conventional intercity and commuter rail, and connections to urban rail systems. Related to the conventional intercity passenger rail program, these plans shall include all of the following:

(A) Recommendations for service levels of, and a capital program for, existing and proposed intercity passenger rail services over a 10-year period, including a list of service enhancements on existing and additional routes, with recommendations regarding funding and priority. The plans shall explain how the recommended service levels support the comprehensive and integrated passenger rail system.

(B) All actual capital and operating expenditures over the prior five years.

(C) All proposed capital and operating expenditures for the next five years.

(D) A performance evaluation for the prior five years for each existing route.

(E) A discussion of fare policies and practices.

(3) A review of all high-speed rail routes, the rail freight system, conventional intercity and commuter passenger rail systems, and urban rail system connections to high-speed rail and conventional intercity and commuter passenger rail systems, including a statement of the state’s passenger rail objectives for routes in the state.

(4) In consultation with the freight railroad industry, an identification of the improvements that have utility to both rail freight and passenger rail services in the state.

(5) An inventory of the existing rail transportation system and rail services and facilities in the state, and an analysis of the role of rail transportation within the state’s overall transportation system.

(6) A freight rail element that contains all of the following:

(A) Environmental impacts that include air quality, land use, and community impacts.

(B) Financing issues that include the planned means to obtain federal and state funding.

(C) Rail issues that include regional, intrastate, and interstate issues.

(D) Intermodal connections that include seaports and intermodal terminals.

(E) A statement of current system deficiencies.

(F) Service objectives that improve efficiency, accessibility, and safety.

(G) New technology that includes logistics and process improvement.

(H) Light density rail line analyses that include traffic density, track characteristics, project selection criteria, and benefit-cost criteria.

(c) The final plan shall be submitted to the Transportation Agency for approval pursuant to Section 22702 of Title 49 of the United States Code. On or before March 1, 2017, the approved plan shall be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to Section 9795, the Governor, the Public Utilities Commission, the High-Speed Rail Authority, and the commission.

(d) The plan shall be updated, at a minimum, every five years thereafter.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 2013, Ch. 237, Sec. 3. (AB 528) Effective January 1, 2014.)