It's Not Just Los Angeles to San Francisco for High Speed Rail...

Published Feb 23, 2009 11:00 PM

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"I think President Obama would like to be known as the high-speed rail president, and I think he can be," said Department of Transportation head, Ray LaHood this morning to National Public Radio in a report about stimulus funding and high speed rail. $8 billion is dedicated to the HSR vision and the radio program took note of California:

The state that may be furthest along in planning is California, where voters approved a $9 billion bond issue last fall for high speed trains. Quentin Kopp, a former judge who is chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, expects a lot of the federal money to wind up in the California system, which would link the state's largest cities. "A trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, which is about 410, 420 miles, will take two hours and 38 minutes with a one-way fare of $55," Kopp says. That's about half to one-third the cost of a plane ticket for a comparable trip.

But the $8 billion from the stimulus bill--and an expected extra billion in the 2010 budget--is likely to be divided across the country, meaning less impact. However, we're ahead statewide: Californians voted in favor of Proposition 1a last November--it authorized a $9 billion bond for the railway.

And with a high-speed rail authority already in place (it has been for years), we've already drawn out the steps and costs needed. “The Department of Transportation will be issuing guidelines for how competitive grants will be awarded within 120 days.," Judge Quentin L. Kopp said in a statement outlining where the money would go to upfront (the full presser is below). The money would go towards grade separations in the Los Angeles to Anaheim corridor so there is no cross traffic between the train and cars/pedestrians, street crossings in the Bay Area, right-of-way purchases, layover storage facilities, design and more.

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Media Statement on Federal Economic Stimulus Funding for High-Speed Train in California

From Judge Quentin L. Kopp

Chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority

“I’m delighted to see that the momentum has shifted in favor of high-speed train transportation in the U.S. First here in California with voter passage of Proposition 1A last November, and today with the President’s signature on the federal stimulus package which includes an $8 billion appropriation for high-speed train projects.

“The Department of Transportation will be issuing guidelines for how competitive grants will be awarded within 120 days. The California High-Speed Rail Authority has outlined for our Congressional leaders how it can utilize at least $2 billion of the allocation by the September 30, 2012 deadline and will continue to prepare and refine its official application over the next several months as guidelines are known.

“There are several specific projects for which funding can be applied in California by the September 2012 timeline outlined in the legislation. They include:

· Grade separations, which prevent auto or pedestrian cross traffic on the high-speed train line, in the Los Angeles to Anaheim corridor

· Street and pedestrian crossing construction in San Bruno in the Bay Area

· Right-of-way purchase and construction grading of a heavy maintenance facility in the Central Valley as well as two storage “layover” facilities in the Bay Area and Los Angeles basin, respectively

· Design and procurement for the electrification of the system from San Jose to San Francisco, including train controls, and commuter vehicles

“Grade separations are in the jurisdiction of local transportation agencies and we are proud to be working in partnership with CalTrain and Metrolink on these projects to ensure success in securing stimulus funding.

“All of these projects will advance the California high-speed rail construction schedule and will have a significantly beneficial effect on California’s economy throughout construction and permanently thereafter, creating hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs for Californians, as a new California industry, and serving as a catalyst for high-speed rail throughout our nation.”