Progress may be on the way for California’s long-sought high speed rail project connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco, following approval last week of a bill to release $4.2 billion in voter-approved funds.
First approved by voters in 2008, the project has experienced numerous setbacks over the years, from management issues to land procurement and engineering troubles. Though costs have ballooned since its initial proposal, the $4.2 billion in additional funding for construction was praised by the user advocate group known as the Rail Passengers Association.
“We’re thrilled that California’s political leaders are ratifying the will of the voters by advancing funding for the state’s high-speed rail project,” Sean Jeans-Gail, vice president of government affairs at the Rail Passengers Association, said. “Now, we’re calling on those same leaders, in partnership with the California High-Speed Rail Authority, to accelerate construction on this corridor. This is not the Notre Dame Cathedral, and it should not be a generational construction effort. The need to electrify the state’s transportation system to battle climate change is too urgent to let this project languish under a barrage of endless reviews and lawsuits.”
When built, the rail would cover a distance of 380 miles initially. However, future extensions are planned to connect it south to stations in San Diego County and north toward Sacramento, California as well. All of these phases are resource dependent.
As part of this new bill, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, California will also provide $3.65 billion in funding to improve other parts of its regional rail system and create the High-Speed Rail Authority Office of the Inspector General to oversee the ongoing high speed rail project.