“The train to nowhere,” critics long have cried. The line is supposed to be operational by 2030. And it’s all the money Washington has sent - in no small part because former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield hated the bullet train because its tracks cut through his constituents’ farm fields.īut now, Biden’s Christmas present to Newsom will allow him to continue erecting the project’s first 171-mile segment from Merced to Bakersfield. Several years ago, the feds gave California $3.5 billion for the project. The appeal of electrified trains - besides their zippy speed - is that they burn clean energy, not climate-warming fossil fuels.īut like bullet trains in Europe and Asia, California’s need generous federal funding - lots of it. The High-Speed Rail Authority will screen vendors to manufacture and maintain the electrified trains, which are planned to operate at speeds of about 220 mph. It would be a disaster.”Ĭalifornia California high-speed rail project looks to build Central Valley train fleet “But to continue to run yesterday’s technology would not be in the state’s interest. “But it’s a lot cheaper than expanding freeways and airports.”Ĭould the work already done be converted to use by conventional, non-electrified passenger trains? That would be a lot less expensive. “The longer it takes to build, the more expensive it is,” says Brian Kelly, chief executive officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. It’s now roughly three times what voters were told the line would cost when they approved a nearly $10-billion bond issue for the bullet train in 2008. It would be politically impossible for California alone to finance the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed rail line that’s currently projected to cost a gargantuan $110 billion. The latest report from the California High-Speed Rail Authority projects costs for the initial segment at $35 billion, which exceeds secured funding by $10 billion. And they can’t print money.Ĭalifornia New cost estimate for California high-speed project puts it deeper in the red States have budget-balancing requirements. They heavily subsidize high-speed rail and can do that because their purse strings are much looser. And if nations with smaller economies - in Europe and Asia - can afford bullet trains, they argue, California certainly can. Most bullet train money - state bonds and federal grants - can be used only for high-speed rail.Īrdent supporters just as erroneously constantly point out that California is the world’s fifth-largest economy. You don’t spend $11 billion on a project, as California already has, then abandon it.Ĭritics consistently have asserted that bullet train money should be shifted to more essential projects - reducing homelessness, educating kids, widening freeways. It’s time we acknowledge that and focus on making it work the best for everyone. Edison Road in Bakersfield location updated: Sgt.But let’s get real: This giant adult toy is going to be constructed one way or another, whether at reasonable speed or in pokey chug-chug fashion. Thursday 4/9 - Public hearing from 3-8 p.m.at Rosamond Public Library at 3611 Rosamond Boulevard in Rosamond at Jane Reynolds Park Activity Center at 716 Oldfield Street in Lancaster

Tuesday 3/4 - Open house meeting from 5:30-7:30 p.m.The public is invited to learn about and give input on CAHSRA's plan at several upcoming meetings: The public can comment on the DEIR from February 28 through April 13. This Friday February 28, CAHSRA will releasing the first Draft Environmental Document for Bakersfield-Palmdale. The segment includes just two stations, Bakersfield and Palmdale. This is a challenging mountainous area, crossing the Tehachapis. CAHSRA map of planned high-speed rail from Bakersfield to Palmdale CAHSRA map of planned high-speed rail from Bakersfield to PalmdaleĬAHSRA is finalizing plans for extending high-speed rail south of Bakersfield to Los Angeles and the 80-mile stretch from Bakersfield to Palmdale is the next step.

California high speed rail map