02/18/2007: "California High Speed Rail bond to be on Nov. 2008 ballot UPDATED 3-17-08"
Latest information on the State's proposed high speed rail service.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA/Authority) in Nov. 2006 approved selection of Parsons Brinkerhoff as the Program Manager to oversee the design and construction of California’s fully-electrified, high performance high-speed passenger train system.
Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB), an internationally recognized expert in the high-speed train arena, along with SYSTRA, an international consulting engineering firm and Deutschman Communications Group, overseeing public affairs and communications, rounds out the Program Management team. Specialized subconsultants to the PB team include: Cordoba Corporation, SC Consultants, AllTransitConsultants, Kleinfelder, The Duffey Company, Turner Engineering Corporation, and Paragon Partners Ltd., which bring a combined force of over 11,000 experts to guide construction of the train system.
Governor expresses support (with quibbles about funding):
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/22421
Letter from the Governor to Congressman Costa:
http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/6674/
In Aug. 2005 the California High Speed Rail Authority released the Final Program EIR/EIS environmental documents which can be viewed via this link:
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/eir%5Ffinal/Default.asp
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 signed legislation to delay until November 2008 a public vote on nearly $10 billion in bonds for the first phase of a high-speed rail statewide network:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_713_bill_20060627_chaptered.html
The Dept. of Finance website regarding the 2006-2007 budget notes: "The Budget provides $14.3 million to begin project implementation. Activities funded in 2006-7 include: completion of a financial plan, project management, identification of critical right-of-way acquisitions, development of a simulator for planning system operation and public information, and $9 million for the beginning of detailed project design and related environmental studies. This funding will enable the authority to move forward with key aspects of the project. However, bond funding for the project must still be authorized by voters in 2008, under provisions of A.B. 713."
Regarding the High Speed Rail Proposal and the transportation bonds on the Nov. 2006 ballot:
1. Proposition 1B, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006, makes $100 million available to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) for railroad crossing improvements (Page 12, lines 17-28):
“(2) Notwithstanding the funding allocation process described in paragraph (1), in consultation with the department and the Public Utilities Commission, the California Transportation Commission shall allocate $100 million dollars ($100,000,000) of the funds in the account to high-priority railroad crossing improvements, including grade separation projects, that are not part of the process established in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2450) of Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code. The allocation of funds under this paragraph shall be made in consultation and coordination with the High-Speed Rail Authority created pursuant to Division 19.5 (commencing with Section 185000) of the Public Utilities Code.”
2. The funds are not specifically directed to and do not advance the high-speed train project nor do they help fund the project’s current needs.
3. The Bond act acknowledges the need to consult with the HSRA, presumably to help ensure any CTC allocations of the $100 million do not impede future construction of a high-speed train, but the actual purpose of the language is unclear.
California High Speed Rail Authority website:
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/
Bay Rail Alliance page on HSR:
http://bayrailalliance.org/hsr/index.html
Institute of Governmental Studies at University of California, Berkeley page on HSR:
http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/library/htHighSpeedRail.htm
Planning and Conservation League page on HSR:
http://www.pcl.org/pcl/pcl_highspeedrail.asp
California High Speed Rail blog:http://cahsr.blogspot.com/
Transportation and Land Use Coalition campaign advocating for continued funding:
http://www.transcoalition.org/c/sus_hsr/
Metropolitan Transportation Commission page on HSR:
http://www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/rail/high-speed.htm and the presentation to their board in Nov. 2007<.
Page outlining concerns about land impacts of the proposal:
http://www.hsrlandimpacts.org/
Concerns of Coe State Park advocates:
http://www.coeadvocates.org/RailProject.htm
Paul Dyson, President of RailPac, testified before the California State Senate Transportation Committee May 16, 2006 in favor of AB 713 which would delay the high speed rail bond to the Nov. 2008 ballot:
http://www.railpac.org/issues/president/index.html
Wendell Cox, noted rail critic, had an op-ed on the bullet train proposal recently in the Orange County Register:
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/atoz/article_1179373.php
Commentary from the Reason Foundation: http://reason.org/commentaries/summers_20071030.shtml
A pro bullet train op-ed by Michael S. Dukakis and Arthur H. Purcell has been published in newspapers across the state:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-oe-dukakis7jul07,0,894525.story?coll=la-home-headlines
OCTA is anticipated to spend $7 million on a corridor study of the portion of the proposed high speed network between Anaheim and Los Angeles: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-highspeed19sep19,1,6512339.story?coll=la-headlines-california