California Votes Next Month on Bullet Train

People in California have been talking for a long time about the possibility of a high speed rail network running through the state. There was once talk of a bullet train between Los Angeles and San Diego, and a high speed line between LA and Vegas. They both got shot down. Will things be any different this time around?

We'll find out soon enough. This November, voters will weigh in on a ballot measure known as Proposition 1A. If it passes, it would authorize a $10 billion bond sale that would fund the first phase of a high speed rail line connecting the Bay Area with Los Angeles and Orange County. Advocates of the program say that it will help alleviate California's notoriously backed up highways and airports. Opponents argue that it will hasten the state's slide into financial ruin.

Since 1994, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has been working to develop and gain support for a state rail network, the core of which would be an 800 mile, $32 billion line connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles with trains that run up to 220 miles per hour. Extending the network into San Diego and Sacramento would add another $10 billion to the total tab. 

According to the Los Angeles Times,
the agency has spent $60 million selling the project, but funding
initiatives were pulled off the ballot in 2004 and 2006. Californians
are concerned about cost of the project, and with good reason. The $10
billion bond issue required for the first portion would need to be paid
off with interest, at a cost of $647 million a year. That's a lot of
coin for a state that already spends 6.1-percent of its budget on debt service. And opponents of the project say the total cost might come in at closer to $80 billion.

But the other side of the argument is that Californians have had
enough of the status quo when it comes to getting around their state.
Gas is expensive, roads and airports are more crumbly
than ever, and congestion is at an all time high. Rod Diridon, a member
of the Rail Authority, told SF Gate
that those factors make a
perfect case for high speed rail. And advocates argue that a big rail
project might actually bring economic benefits. They say it could
create up to 160,000 construction jobs, and 400,000 more once the system is up and running.

It's hard to say what's going to happen in November. Polls show the
proposition passing by a slim margin, but as unemployment grows and
retirement portfolios shrink, residents might decide it's better to
wait on what would be California's largest public works
project ever.

Photo: California High Speed Rail Authority