Bob Doty, who was CEO of the Peninsula Rail Program, has joined HNTB in a senior executive position. While that's news, from our point of view and in itself it's really not either good or bad news. Of course, he and his family may see this quite differently.
This new, private sector job will doubtless be far more rewarding for him. While this job change is not that big a deal for us, it is symptomatic of the changing situation, and we'll discuss that in a moment.
As you know, Bob's role was to manage the high-speed rail developments on the Caltrain corridor. That relationship was formalized by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the CHSRA and Caltrain. However, it does not appear that high-speed rail will appear on the Caltrain corridor any time in the foreseeable future. Construction for HSR will begin in the Central Valley in 2012, to be completed in 2017. If there's no more new federal funding for HSR (which is a real possibility), that pretty much closes down the development of the Caltrain corridor.
And, with Bob Doty leaving to be the main man in the Florida HSR effort, that signals sea-changes on the Peninsula. Will Caltrain replace him? Or, will they publicly acknowledge what we have been speculating for a while, that they should be moving on, not relying on a CHSRA bailout, and confront the realities of no funding sources for capital development for a long, long time.
Remember, Tony Daniels, the head engineering guy from Parsons Brinkerhoff working with the CHSRA, got reassigned to Florida some time ago. Did PB already recognize that California's HSR project was on its way to a lingering death? Now Doty is re-locating to Florida as well. Interestingly, the Florida HSR project is also not a done deal, their new Governor, Rick Scott, being hesitant about committing the state's meager resources to this huge money hole.
What does all this mean for us on the Peninsula? Caltrain had better start coming clean and let us know what its plans are in the face of the absence of HSR. “His departure means we will rethink the structure and the personnel to go forward with high-speed rail,” Scanlon said. “We entered into the agreement with High Speed Rail to help save Caltrain. We still have to save Caltrain.”
Yes, Mr. Scanlon, that's what I'm talking about. What do you mean by "rethink the structure?" Do you mean without HSR to pay for all the developments that you had anticipated? What's your MOU with HSR worth now? Is the fact that Doty suddenly leaving for this private sector job mean that you accept the realities of no HSR on the corridor? If so, what are your plans for saving Caltrain without HSR?
It does look like Caltrain has no choice but to say good-bye to the high-speed train, which is departing without ever having turned a single shovel of dirt. Some of us have been asking that Caltrain commits itself to its hosts and customer base; that is, those of us living in the three counties on the Peninsula. We want them to terminate their MOU with the rail authority and commit themselves to us as partners. That is, strike a quid pro quo deal. It shouldn't be that difficult for them to make this decision.
We ask that they permanently reject high-speed rail on the Caltrain corridor, and make some major changes in their organization and operations. We, in turn, will consider providing the only thing that can save Caltrain, and that is a permanent revenue subsidy source. We discussed our terms in an earlier blog: The shortsighted vision of the 'Friends of Caltrain Dec. 26,2010.
It's too bad that the new "Friends of Caltrain" aren't making such a relationship their central mission based on the terms we describe here. Now, with Doty's departure, perhaps they will.
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NEWS
Media Contact: Mark Simon, 650.508.6340
Christine Dunn, 650.508.6238
Caltrain’s Head of High-Speed Rail Partnership Moves to Private Sector
Robert L. Doty, director of the Peninsula Rail Program, a partnership between Caltrain and the California High Speed Rail Authority, has accepted a senior executive position with the engineering firm of HNTB.
Doty’s last day as Director of the Peninsula Rail Program will be Jan. 21. His new position at HNTB will be Vice President and Director of High Speed Rail Programs. He will work on a variety of projects, most immediately the high-speed rail program in Florida.
By agreement with Caltrain and the CHSRA, Doty will do no work on the Peninsula section for a year.
“We created the PRP to take full advantage of Bob Doty and his unique experience and expertise across the globe in designing and delivering large-scale rail projects. It is no surprise that a man of Bob’s talents and expertise is being snatched up by one of the firms that wants to be a player in the domestic high-speed rail competition,” said Caltrain Executive Director Mike Scanlon.
“His departure means we will rethink the structure and the personnel to go forward with high-speed rail,” Scanlon said. “We entered into the agreement with High Speed Rail to help save Caltrain. We still have to save Caltrain.”
“This is a significant personal and professional opportunity,” said Doty. “I can’t resist the chance to do this work with a firm for which I have high regard.”
Doty would not discuss the details of the compensation associated with his new position in the private sector, except to say it is expected to be “substantially more” than the $178,000 per year he was paid as director of the Peninsula Rail Program.
HNTB is among the nation’s leading engineering and design firms and is under contract to provide consulting expertise to high-speed rail projects throughout the United States. In California, it is designing the Peninsula segment of the California High Speed Rail project.
Doty has been director of the Peninsula Rail Program since its creation in 2008.
The PRP is a partnership between the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board and CHSRA to develop mutually beneficial programs on the Caltrain right of way.
As director, Doty has reported to both Caltrain Executive Director Scanlon and CHSRA CEO Roelof van Ark. Doty’s position has been funded 50-50 by the two partner agencies.
Doty’s position has made him the lead figure in the development of the programs that would initiate high-speed rail on the Peninsula and advance Caltrain electrification and modernization programs.
In that capacity, he led the effort to design preliminary high-speed rail alignments and to advance the Peninsula high-speed rail segment through the environmental review process.
He led a successful effort to obtain an unprecedented waiver from the Federal Railroad Administration for the operation of mixed rail traffic on the Caltrain right of way. The waiver clears the way for a signal and control system that would dramatically enhance the safety of rail operations, improve the performance of the Caltrain system and provide critical infrastructure for the operation of high-speed rail on the Peninsula.
From 2003-2008, Doty was Director of Rail Transportation, Engineering and Construction at Caltrain. He managed the operations of the railroad through a contract operator workforce of 450 personnel and was instrumental in developing the highly successful Baby Bullet program that resulted in increased service, ridership and revenues.
Doty is 64 and has more than 40 years of experience in the rail transportation industry, designing, building and operating rapid transit and heavy rail systems in the United States and abroad.
His prior positions include Manager of Train Operations for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Director of Systems Engineering for the Taipei Rapid Transit System, Project Manager and Chief Negotiator for the Korean High-Speed Rail project, and Project Manager for Systemwide Works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Section 1.
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Caltrain is a commuter rail line operating between San Francisco and San Jose, with commute service to Gilroy. Average weekday ridership on the mix of 86 local, limited and express weekday trains is 40,000. Local, hourly service is provided on Saturdays and Sundays.
Caltrain is owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, a partnership of the City and County of San Francisco, the San Mateo County Transit District and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
