High-speed financing

A long-awaited financing plan for the much-delayed California high-speed rail project say the plan would need both private and public funds. Backers are planning a nearly $10 billion bond measure on the November 2008 ballot to help pay for the project:

A proposed high-speed train system connecting San Diego and San Francisco and passing through Los Angeles would likely be funded by a combination of private and public sources, California High-Speed Rail Authority Board members said today. The 700-mile system, which would cost an estimated $38 billion to $41 billion, could be funded by private sector investments and funding from local, state and federal sources, according to an analysis prepared by the Infrastructure Management Group and Lehman Brothers. (From CNS)

Is high speed rail a good idea for California. Hit COMMENT and speak out!

Comments

[Daniel Nelson]

Ironically its incredible for the idea of a monorail to last for some 40 yrs.at a time when most of LAs current politicians were in diapers. When is it time to break from the lobbyist and special iinterests and represent the people of Los Angeles. Disney corp.offered tech assistance for a monorail system in LA---what happened? maybe it didn't cost us taxpayers enough money Digging tunnels and terminating rail lines in El Segundo instead of the L A X was the political pay off needed.Where is the vision , guess what? they never had it in the first place. Its easy to increase our taxes however it takes a real Statesmen to be a visionary. were short on Statesmen.

[Joe Kim]

We need to make the capital investments necessary for alternate transportation systems. Road capacity will not be able to handle additional cars as congestion increases. Building more roads, expanding HOV lanes, while
essential in any comprehensive transportation solution, are limited as has been
shown in the last 20-30 years. Developing a high speed rail network would
help push California into more public transit options. Given that many business and citizens fly between SF, San Jose, Oakland and SoCal, this would be a logical addition. Careful thought should also be done in terms of planning the stations and developing (transit-oriented development) - e.g. besides building
communities and high densitiy living near the stations, thoughts should be in place for adequate parking and parking infrastructures so commuters could
park their cars, car rental facilities so that travellers could rent a car once they reach the destination.

[Aaron]

Of course its a good idea, that's why nothing is happening.

[Shaun]

This is a great idea and it needs to be done ASAP. They keep pushing back the ballot measure and we need to vote now and start planning today. Also CA gets screwed out of federal dollars compared to other states, especially the Northeast. The fed govt needs provide CA with at least $10 billion for this system considering they provided billions to Boston so they could put 2 miles of freeway underground. This project would greatly benefit our economy much more than the Big Dig ever will.

[manuel]

Well, this proposal would have been in the November 2006 ballot but Arnold pushed it to 2008. Most likely he will do the same in 2008 because he thinks we need more roads.

[Patrick McKinnion]

It's a great idea, and badly needed. Links to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, and Seattle would also be greatly desired as well.

But I swear, they've been jawboning this as long as San Diego has been discussing a new airport - and with the same lack of success. Meanwhile, the routes they want to use are being more and more built up. If they don't start it soon, just buying the ROW will be too expensive.

[Brandon]

I think that the high speed rail line is an amazing idea, but I also think it should be built to eventually connect to other cities in the west. upon completion between socal and the bay area, an extension to portland would be a great idea, then eventually to seattle. in the south, a vegas branch would unbelievable, as well as an extension to phoenix and beyond.

[Martin Luther]

Well, it's a brilliant idea. Has anyone seen the YouTube clip of the French train passing under the overpass? It's almost unbelievable. And naturally, it would be a public-private partnership. Nobody else is going to be able to come up with that kind of capital investment.

I was fully expecting the French to make a proposal to our governor for a system to run along the spine of the state, branching to the north somewhere near San Jose to go to San Francisco and Sacramento. I hope it happens soon, if only to prove that Californians still have the "We can purchase it" attitude. Seriously, though - BART was home-grown and has turned out to be a great system. Why not one of our own?