The distance, over 350 miles, makes these cities a good fit for a high-speed rail link if it is implemented correctly.
A smart setup would use local transit means to feed people into and out of hub stations in each destination city. The high-speed train would then compete head on with regional air carriers operating flights between the cities.
If they add stops between the two big cities they will kill the effectiveness of the high-speed train by making it constantly change speeds as it stops and starts. It would be a colossal waste of money on a train that can do over 150 mph, but would run at and average 80 mph because of stops. Can you say Acela Express?
They will also mess it up if they run the high-speed train on the same rails as freight trains as they mention in the story. For high-speed rail, passenger or freight, to be effective it must have the exclusive use of express rails to maintain speed. Is that the Acela Express coming by again?
My money is on them messing it up with multiple stops, sharing track or both. Wow that Acela Express keeps coming by as I am typing this. Is it a sign?
The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board voted last Thursday to begin construction of the system that will eventually connect Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The 65-mile segment, located in the heart of the state’s Central Valley, lays the foundation for expanding the track north and south. It was chosen because it makes best use of available funding and can be used whether or not the rest of the 800-mile system is built — both federal requirements.
“We’re in the business of connecting major metropolitan centers across our state,” authority vice chair Tom Umberg said in a statement. “We won’t have a true high-speed rail system until we tie every part of this state together.”
The decision has been met with some resistance, since the approved segment is virtually unusable by consumers without the rest of the system in place. (It can, however, be connected to an existing Amtrak freight line, the Associated Press reports.)
The new line would start north of Fresno near Madera and include the construction of two new stations: one in downtown Fresno, and the other east of Hanford. It will then continue to Corcoran, north of Bakersfield.
The initial segment will use about $4.15 billion of the available $4.3 billion.
The funds will be used:
- To build two new stations.
- Acquire rights of way.
- Construct viaducts.
- Prepare the site.
- Grade the land.
- Restore vegetation.
- Build rail bridges.
- Realign roadways.
- Relocate existing railways and utilities.
Another key point for the location: jobs. The project is a massive job creation engine, and the Central Valley — with unemployment upwards of 40 percent — is among the places hardest hit after the global economic downturn.
No construction can begin until the Authority completes its environmental reviews of the project, set for Sept. 2011. Construction is expected to begin in 2012 and finish in 2017.
Here’s a look at the project:
Tell me: given the future benefits and present risks, would you vote yes on this project?
