The Loma Prietan
September 2002
High Speed Rail Gains Track-tion
by Charlene Barnes, Rajesh Krishnan, and Patrick Moore
With polls showing State voters fed-up with congestion and recent Congressional hearings focusing on our State's gridlock and its costly economic impacts, California's high-speed rail is now gaining traction in Sacramento and elsewhere. Recent moves by the Governor, the High Speed Rail Authority and our elected representatives in Sacramento and Washington show broad, and in some cases, bi-partisan support for a project considered to be the one of the largest infrastructure plans ever in the United States.
High-speed rail is viewed as a key element to helping California succeed with smart, responsible growth. It will provide our State with a fast, affordable option for traveling between southern and northern California. A high-speed train would travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 2.5 hours, connecting L.A.'s Union Station to San Francisco's Transbay Terminal, with extensions as far as San Diego and Sacramento contemplated. It would be vastly cleaner than air travel and operate without typical weather-related aviation delays. And with numerous stops in-between, vast sections of California would be served, providing the entire State with a true public transportation network.
Currently, High-Speed Rail is moving forward on three different funding tracks. Each of these tracks is key to this project's economic and environmental feasibility.
Track 1: Completing the Draft EIR/EIS
The State's High Speed Rail Authority is in the midst of preparing a program-level environmental impact report/statement (EIR/EIS) in cooperation with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and a team of engineering and related technical consultants.
Currently, the State's budget includes a $7 million appropriation to complete this work and issue a Draft EIR/EIS for public and legislative review/comment sometime next year. These State funds will be combined with an already received federal appropriation of $1.25 million. Even with the state's financial crisis, the High Speed Rail Authority budget allocation remains intact so far.
Track 2: Federal Appropriations Request
Senator Feinstein and Congressman Matsui have submitted a $4.8 million appropriations request for the High Speed Rail Authority for fiscal year 2003. This request will be considered by the House Appropriations Committee on Transportation sometime this summer. If approved, funds will be used for additional studies by the High Speed Rail Authority.
Track 3: SB 1856 High-Speed Rail Bond Act
Introduced by Senator Costa earlier in the legislative session, the High-Speed Rail Bond Act of 2004 calls for the issuance of $9.5 billion in general obligation bonds. If approved by the voters, the measure would provide funds for the planning and construction of the first phase of the 700-mile high-speed passenger train. Bond proceeds would be used for right-of-way acquisitions, train cars, tracks, stations and other related construction and capital expenditures. Revenue generated by ticket sales from the first phase of the passenger train would help finance the rest of the project. The first phase would connect the Bay Area with Los Angeles.
Senator Costa's bond measure passed the State Senate on a 22 to 9 vote in late May. Recently, the State Assembly's Transportation Committee approved the bond measure on a 12 to 6 vote. It currently sits with the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
California Senators voting against the Costa Bill include:
- Ackerman, Dick (Senate District 33)
- Brulte, James (Senate District 31)
- Haynes, Ray (Senate District 36)
- Johannessen, Maurice (Senate District 4)
- Johnson, Ross (Senate District 35)
- Knight, William "Pete" (Senate District 17)
- McClintock, Tom (Senate District 19)
- Morrow, Bill (Senate District 38)
- Oller, Rico (Senate District 1)
As of press time, it was scheduled for a vote on August 22. If it succeeds, the bond would then need to clear the Assembly floor with a two-thirds majority. From there, it would return to the Senate floor for an additional, final vote, also requiring a two-thirds majority. If this happens by August 31, it will be on the Governor's desk to send to the voters in the November 2004 election.
The bond measure has already garnered support from labor, transportation and environmental organizations throughout the State including: Planning and Conservation League, State Labor Federation, Rail Passenger Association of California, Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition, and the cities of San Jose, Fresno and Bakersfield, among others.
As Dan Leavitt from the California High Speed Rail Authority notes, "This bond is the best opportunity to demonstrate the HSR is for real and it can be built in California."
What You Can Do
The Sierra Club is involved in each of these legislative funding efforts. We are also involved in birddogging the environmental review process to ensure the kind of project and project parameters that are responsible and responsive to the Club's position on High Speed Rail. If you would like to plug into this effort, or if your organization would like a presentation on High-Speed Rail and/or is interested in lending its name to support it, please contact: Patrick Moore, Sierra Club California Transportation Committee, 650/969-2966 or 650/390-8411.