The Sacramento-based California Rail Foundation was founded in 1987 as a California nonprofit public benefit corporation. CRF works to educate the public on rail and bus technology and promote cost-effective expansion of the state's public transportation services. We support use of proven technologies and practical engineering to incrementally grow California’s mobility by rail.

In 1990, CRF co-sponsored Proposition 116, the California Rail Bond Initiative, which provided nearly $2 billion for rail and transit improvements statewide. We worked with the Planning and Conservation League (PCL) to formulate a set of projects that would produce cost-effective progress, and helped communicate the benefits via a set of map graphics which showed exactly which routes and facilities would receive improvements.

CRF has worked since its inception to foster a California high-speed rail project that is well-planned, efficient, environmentally beneficial, and affordable. We have joined PCL, TRANSDEF, BayRail Alliance, City of Menlo Park and the Town of Atherton in a lawsuit to force fair consideration of the Altamont Corridor for California’s starter high-speed line, due to its superior economic and environmental benefits.

California Rail Foundation publishes California Rail News, available at most Amtrak stations statewide. We also sponsor the annual California Rail 2020 conference, scheduled this year November 8 at the Capitol Plaza Ballroom, 1025 Ninth Street, in Sacramento.