Published Saturday, Oct. 13, 2001, in the San Jose Mercury News 

Tentative OK reached for Fremont-to-S.J. tracks
BY GARY RICHARDS
Mercury News Staff Columnist 
Trains, roads and one-armed drivers . . .

The Valley Transportation Authority has tentatively agreed on an $80
million deal to buy the Union Pacific tracks between Fremont and San
Jose, the future path for the proposed BART extension to San Jose.

The agreement gives the transit authority 18 miles of track, most of
it parallel to Interstate 680. The transit authority is finishing a
study of rail and bus options between the East Bay and Silicon Valley,
with a staff report recommending BART as its top choice. The report is
mandatory for the project to be considered for federal aid.

The transit authority is expected to approve the study Nov. 9. Talks,
meanwhile, continue between the Bay Area Rapid Transit District and
the Valley Transportation Authority, with the regional leaders saying
a deal may be struck by Nov. 19, or the plan may be dropped from the
regional transit wish list.