High speed rail comes to California

[telemann.livejournal.com]

California's high speed rail will start with a spur between Bakersfield and Fresno. The spur has earned some giggles from conservatives, considering how relatively small those two cities are. But this is the start of a high speed rail line that will eventually extend from San Francisco to San Diego. Federal money from the stimulus bill passed in 2010 has jump-started the project, with additional monies from Wisconsin and Ohio (the Republican governors of those states did not accept the Federal grants).

The construction will create 150,000 jobs in California, and some estimates have projected nearly 650,000 permanent jobs will be created along the rail corridor. The project will help reduce overtaxed roads in California, and will remove more than one million vehicles from the state's roads and freeways; and it will also lessen California's dependence on foreign oil by up to 12.7 million barrels per year. Estimates vary from 22 million to up to 96 million riders per year). The final cost of the entire project varies by source, but some estimates have been as high as 81 billion dollars. It's estimated as spurs are completed, profits from those lines would help finance construction costs, making it somewhat cost effective. I think the entire project is a great one, and sure it's going to be very expensive, but then-- most big projects are. The United States has been falling significantly behind on infrastructure investments for some time, we need to do something about it!

Comments

[737-700.livejournal.com]

"That said, you are talking about commuting and inner city driving/commuter rail. That is not what they are building in California, they are building an inter city rail system to compete with airlines, so we'll take your comments back up when commuter airlines between Decatur and Stone Mountain open up."

I will never understand the anti-rail the US had. While I dont think its feasible to have a national network of high speed rail, there is certainly no reason why it wont work in high population states.

At some point highways cannot be expanded, airports will be congested and unable to expand, then what?

Most of Southern California's airports have limited capacity, only LAX is large and its even having issues with capacity but just about all of them are landlocked and growth restricted.

Rail is the future, and people need to get their heads out of the sand.

Hell Southwest Airlines lobbied against high speed rail, when an airline feels threatened enough to lobby against rail obviously they feel they will lose passengers.

Slow speed rail has been increasing passenger wise since 2000, more and more use it, most times on Amtrak the train is packed, add in speed, and who is to say more people wont ride?

This project needs to be thought of not as a private for profit business but needed infrastructure for the future to move people around the state.

Not everything needs to make a profit.