California High-Speed Rail

The system will extend from San Francisco and Sacramento, via the Central Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego via the Inland Empire. Proposed stations on the route are shown on the right, with stations on the initial San Francisco-Los Angeles-Anaheim route given in bold. San Diego officials have also expressed desire to have the route potentially extend to its South Bay cities and border with Tijuana to capitalize on the fiscal economic opportunities.

Schedule

On December 19, 2007, the CHSRA Board agreed to proceed with the Pacheco Pass option. Pacheco Pass was considered the superior route for long-distance travel between Southern California and the Bay Area, although the Altamont Pass option would serve as a good commuter route. The CHSRA plans conventional rail improvements for the Altamont corridor, to complement the high-speed project.

Benefits

According to the 2009 California Transportation Commission report, it would cost annually year over 10 years to maintain existing roads in California, which is more than the estimated cost of the entire project, which is .. The roads will still need to be maintained with or without High Speed Rail.

Criticisms

The Legislative Analyst's Office published recommendations on May 10, 2011, which they said will help the high–speed rail project be developed successfully. They recommended that the California legislature seek flexibility on use of federal funds and then reconsider where construction of the high–speed rail line should start. They also recommended that the California legislature shift responsibility away from the CHSRA and fund only the administrative tasks of the CHSRA in the 2011-12 budget.

Funding

Financing plans to complete the initial segment require as-yet unsecured support from federal and local governments, as well as significant investment from the private sector. In a plan developed by the CHSRA in conjunction with Goldman Sachs, the federal commitment was expected to be $12 to $16 billion, while private investors would invest up to $7.5 billion, leaving an additional $10 billion to come from local governments. Construction costs are projected to be approximately $42 billion. The CHSRA projects the initial operating segment to produce a budget surplus which will be used to finance extensions to Sacramento and San Diego.

On October 2, 2009, then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled California's official application for ARRA high-speed rail stimulus funding. The total amount of the application was $4.7 billion, representing more than half of the $8 billion set aside for high-speed rail. The application included:

On January 28, 2010, the White House announced that California would receive $2.35 billion of its request, of which $2.25 billion was allocated specifically for California High Speed Rail, while the rest was designated for conventional rail improvements.

On October 28, 2010, the federal government awarded the CHSRA a further $900 million for passenger rail improvements, including $715 million specifically for the high speed rail project, but with the requirement that it be used specifically for the Central Valley segments from Merced to Fresno, or Fresno-to-Bakersfield. While the CHSRA recognizes the federal government's desire for the initial segment to be built in the Central Valley, the CHSRA states that it will evaluate the starting segment according to its own criteria. This announcement brings the federal government's funding commitment to high-speed rail projects in California to $4.3 billion.

On December 10, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation reallocated $1.2 billion in federal high speed rail funding from states that had rejected the stimulus funds, including Wisconsin and Ohio. Nearly half of this funding, or $624 million, was redirected to the California High Speed Rail Authority for use on the initial Central Valley leg of the project.

On May 9, 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation reallocated $2 billion in federal high speed rail funding from Florida, which had rejected the funding. The DOT awarded $300 million to the California High Speed Rail Authority for a 20-mile extension along the Central Valley Corridor. The work funded in this round will extend the track and civil work from Fresno to the Chowchilla Wye, which will provide a connection to San Jose to the West and Merced to the North.

See also

References

External links

Category:High-speed rail in the United States Category:High-speed railway lines of the United States Category:Passenger rail transport in California Category:Proposed public transportation in the United States