UC Berkeley’s Transportation Graduate Students Organizing Committee (TRANSOC) was recently invited by California High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) for a user testing session with their design team. The California high-speed rail project aims to connect the state’s mega-regions whilst bolstering economic development and sustainable mobility, set to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours by 2030.
On Jan. 26, 2024, TRANSOC participants took an Amtrak to HSRA headquarters in Sacramento to tour, test, and provide invaluable feedback on the HSRA’s model high-speed train; travel costs were graciously funded by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER). TRANSOC students enjoyed hearing about the planning process from the HSRA team, learning about the history, planned route, station design, and train car functionality of the project. They were also impressed by the visual communications and exhibit space that hosted the model train car, currently a 1:1 “white model” made of foam and wood that can be continually revised based on user feedback.
“It was interesting to see how the California High-Speed Rail project fits in with other Californian mega projects I've explored in my transportation planning studio course,” says Winnie Zhuang, MCP/MS (‘24) student.
Armed with knowledge from UC Berkeley transportation and planning courses, TRANSOC students participated in a lively discussion with the HSRA design team, posing critical questions about parking, future development, and zoning.
“CAHSR closely relates to a project that I'm working on in my Transportation Sustainability class with Professor Susan Shaheen, where we are tasked to work on a project on a transportation-related problem in the context of a sustainable transportation policy," says MCP/MS (‘25) student Ameen DaCosta. “My group and I are looking at high-speed rail, so this trip was very beneficial in increasing my understanding of the topic, especially regarding how it's being approached in the US. I hope to be able to contribute what I learned from the trip to this report and my work in the future!”
Feedback from the TRANSOC user testing session will be iterated upon by the HSRA design team as they strive to make their model more inclusive and reflective of the diverse needs of Californians.
Read more about the California High-Speed Rail project here: https://hsr.ca.gov/about/project-update-reports/2023-project-update-report/
