Light rail trains have been grounded since May 26, when a VTA employee at the Guadalupe Rail Yard shot and killed 10 employees, including himself.
Now state lawmakers are stepping up to help the Valley Transportation Authority jumpstart light rail service again.
The $20 million in funding was just agreed upon, “To meet the most pressing needs, get the trains going again,” said State Senator Dave Cortese.
The extra funding will need to be approved by the legislature and signed by the governor before the July 1st budget deadline.
The funds will pay for initial repairs to the Guadalupe Rail Yard. But they are also intended to help take care of VTA workers and families. Nearly a hundred workers witnessed the tragedy.
The workers who lost colleagues will now have resources to seek grief counseling, staff support and training for some employees that may want to be retrained and relocated.
"Thank you to our state and local leadership for taking immediate action to support our workers that have been so devastatingly impacted by this senseless tragedy," said John Courtney, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265. "We lost members of our family - essential union employees that provided vital public transit service everyday of this pandemic. This funding will go a long way as we work to build back our community."
It may not be enough.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said the VTA may need an additional $85 to $150 million to completely replace the light rail control center.
Chavez believes tearing the building down is the best solution, "raze the building where most of the incident occurred, level it, because it could and should need to be rebuilt," she said.
There is still no timeline for returning light rail trains to service.
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