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Science & Technology
Big Chunk of High Speed Rail Money Goes to California
2010-02-02
The $2.25 billion will pay to finish engineering and environmental reviews and provide seed money to start building the Anaheim-to-San Francisco route. The $2.25 billion in federal stimulus funds awarded this week to the California high-speed rail project ensures that construction can proceed on a 520-mile route between Anaheim and San Francisco within three years, rail officials said Thursday.

Mehdi Morshed, executive director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said the infusion of federal dollars would pay for completion of the project's engineering and environmental reviews and provide a significant amount of seed money to start building the system by September 2012, as required by the federal grant.

"We have been aggressively pushing the environmental and engineering work on this project," Morshed said. "We didn't have assurances we would have money for construction. Now we do."
California has spent a lot of State money on passenger trains, trying to wean itself from the love affair with the automobile. Its trains carry tens of thousand each day that would oterwise further clog the freeways. Plus, I'm sure San Fran Nan appreciated the billions.
Morshed said the grant gives the California project the potential to generate $4.5 billion in additional funding by allowing the state to match the federal allocation. If the Legislature approves, the money will come from issuing bonds authorized by Proposition 1A. Passed in 2008, the ballot measure approved the sale of up to $10 billion in bonds to finance the high-speed rail project.
That part might be interesting!
Posted by:Bobby

#14  The apportionment and allocation of Porkulus funds are mainly based on Dem constituencies and districts. More xfer of money from US to THEM.
Posted by: A_Rovian_Disciple   2010-02-02 18:05  

#13  It will never be built. We will spend years arguing about the environmental impact statement and in the end do nothing.

But the money will be spent. Of that I have no doubt.
Posted by: Kelly   2010-02-02 15:00  

#12  This is essentially a full-employment act for the California legal community. I'll be shocked if they ever lay the first mile of track but I won't be at all shocked when the thought that it's about to happen spawns thousands of lawsuits. My friends who are members of the CA Bar thank all of you for your kind contribution of tax dollars to their well being.
Posted by: AzCat   2010-02-02 13:28  

#11  Tunneling through all the mountains should be fun.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC   2010-02-02 12:41  

#10  If they were serious about high speed rail they would have built it in the 90s when we were flush with money. They would also be talking about building above (or beside) the i-5 and the aquaduct where they wouldn't need the same level of environmental scrutiny and/or right of way purchases.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2010-02-02 12:25  

#9  So... left out of this high speed rail discussion is security.

Let's compare:
Airplane: Airport security and passenger security checks.
High Speed Rail: Station security, passenger security PLUS 520 miles of track security.

Blow the rails, or just park a truck on the tracks and see how many passengers survive the impact and subsequent derailment at 200 mph.

The whole high speed rail idea is stupid in the age of terrorism.
Posted by: LeighG   2010-02-02 11:43  

#8  In Boston we couldn't do a 3 mile freeway project for under $15 bn, after all the payoffs to unions and relatives of local politicians. A 520-mile train track will probably need at least $100 million per mile.
Posted by: Skunky Angeack7024   2010-02-02 10:30  

#7  Another death nail in the artificial California...
Posted by: Hammerhead   2010-02-02 09:54  

#6  the initial $10B cost estimate on this is BEFORE engineering and environmental studies

this initial estimate was badly low balled

I expect that after the new studies are completed the cost will be $15-25B. Also, they are going to have to refine the ridership estimates. These now are for 40M to 100M a year (100k to 250k/day). These are way high. Adding the Acela and the regular NE corridor ridership only is about 10M/yr.
Posted by: lord garth   2010-02-02 09:49  

#5  The democrat party is all about scam after scam after scam after scam after scam after scam after scam after scam after scam after scam after scam after scam after fraud.
Posted by: newc   2010-02-02 09:33  

#4  But it creates jobs!

Yes they'll only be Union Jobs but that's the only type of jobs The Big 0 cares about.

Posted by: BrerRabbit   2010-02-02 09:15  

#3  the ballot measure approved the sale of up to $10 billion in bonds to finance the high-speed rail project.

Who's stupid enough to lend CA any more money, esp on a money pit?
Posted by: ed   2010-02-02 08:41  

#2  I forgot a little nugget that I learned yesterday. NONE of the public train systems (high speed or otherwise) exists without subsidies. That is to say NONE in the whole world. So even if it is built it will only become another money sucking government entity.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2010-02-02 08:41  

#1  We already have a train the nobody rides on that runs north-south. What a friggin sink hole of money.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2010-02-02 08:36  

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