Author: Christopher Suzdak
The state of California, despite recent budget woes, is pressing ahead in a bold initiative to introduce a state-wide high-speed rail system. This comprehensive, 20-year plan will have far-reaching effects and could even come as close as two miles from Occidental’s campus.
“It’s disgraceful for America to be so far behind in terms of infrastructure,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said this September, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Referring to successful high-speed rail systems already operating in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Spain, the Governor stressed how important a role such a system would play, not only in the increased development of the state economy, but also in its impact on the nation-wide rail initiative.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority, the government-backed organization responsible for the planning and logistics of the project, threw its support behind the idea of a high-speed rail system during last year’s general election in November by approving Proposition 1A. This proposition authorized the sale of $9.95 billion in bonds to help fund the high-speed rail project. The state’s proposed route, built over or alongside pre-existing rail corridors, would originate in downtown Los Angeles and include Anaheim, San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco. Stops along the way would also include stations at cities like Fresno and San Jose. It would reflect a similar system that is currently being built that will connect most European cities by 2020.
But now California Congressional leaders are taking it to the next level by supporting a bid for stimulus funds from the federal government. The state is asking for more than $4.7 billion out of the $8 billion designated for high-speed trains in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the Stimulus Package. If granted this amount, the state of California has promised to match this contribution from state funds to create an almost $20 billion total investment in the high-speed rail project.
These leaders hope they can make the case that California is ahead of the pack in planning such a project, and its implementation will help lead to more similar systems across the country. These funds have been specifically designated toward building intermediary routes, such as between San Francisco and San Jose and between Los Angeles and Anaheim. Time will tell which routes will be operational first, due to complications in construction and policy delays.
According to the High-Speed Rail Authority, the total cost of building a comprehensive 800-mile system covering the state is $45 billion, and, once completed, will generate $1 billion in profit annually. The cost of not building the system would be $82 billion, a figure which includes adding more highway lanes and airport departure gates as a result of an expected three million person growth in population over the next 30 years.
The Authority published a document named the “High-Speed Train Preliminary Funding Strategy and Financing Plan,” which concluded that funding would rely on the government more in the beginning, but private sources are expected to play a significant role down the line as well.
Although he won’t get the chance to see the benefits of such a system anytime soon, Noah Azarin (sophomore) still believes the project is worth it in the long run. “California needs a modernized long-distance transport system that competes with short-distance air travel and prepares for a future necessarily reliant on alternative energy and mass transit,” he said. “This investment will definitely pay off.”
Some Occidental students have already enjoyed the benefits of traveling at over 200 miles per hour. Steven Hartanto (sophomore), who hails from Hong Kong, where a highly efficient metro system and long distance high-speed rails having been operating for some time now, is happy to see that such a system might eventually be installed in California. “Everyone uses it there because it is so convenient, consistent and cheap,” Hartanto said.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has outlined many of the economic and environmental benefits that would result from the implementation of its proposal. Not only would the state-wide construction create as many as 600,000 construction-related jobs and 450,000 new permanent jobs, but the rail system would also relieve traffic congestion on freeways and make it easier to get to and from major airports.
Consistent with President Obama’s aspirations for high-speed rails to take leading roles in the United States’ transportation future, a California system would help the state meet required air quality standards and make it easier for the public to travel faster and more efficiently. Running on electrical power, high-speed rails offer a “greener” option for short to medium distance travel. This option uses only one-third of the energy of airplanes per passenger and only one-fifth of the energy of cars per passenger, according to the Rail Authority.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or the L.A. Metro, will also play an important role in the California high-speed rail line because of its tight integration within the greater Los Angeles area and use as a central hub.
According to a press release by the L.A. Metro on Oct. 22, their Long Range Transportation Plan was approved. In addition to its recommendation for the implementation of many internal programs within the county that improve efficiency in bus and highway systems, the plan includes initiatives needed for high-speed rail construction. The plan also mentions the urgency that would be generated by the aforementioned spike in the population that is expected to take place over the next 30 years.
While the plan is certainly a step forward in the minds of many, controversy is not lacking. One issue is the location and construction of new rail lines. Since the California High-Speed Rail Authority is already requesting and dealing with stringent environmental impact studies, many local communities are realizing that this project may come to reality faster than expected. As a result, they have voiced their opinions regarding where they believe construction should or should not take place.
Just last month, the cities of Menlo Park and Atherton, both located in northern California, officially challenged the proposed site of the line, saying they would rather see it go through the East Bay than the Peninsula. Courts have not yet made any objections themselves and have only made sure that thorough studies are made according to the law.
An issue closer to home is that the train may run through Taylor Yard, just two miles from Occidental’s campus. New rail construction alongside pre-existing Metro-Link tracks there would interfere with efforts to construct a new high school and public park adjacent to the Los Angeles River. Local residents say that all the concrete would detract from the communal feeling they intended to develop through these new constructions.
Occidental Politics Professor Regina Freer, who studies Los Angeles city planning issues, thinks Taylor Yard isn’t the only place where this concern is present. “Worries have been expressed by those working to revitalize the Los Angeles River who fear that the proposed route for the rail will negatively impact plans to develop along the river,” she said.
However, solutions to these points of contention have been proposed. Occidental alum and activist Joe Linton ’85, a Los Angeles resident, personally envisions an elevated high-speed rail line constructed in the middle of the 5 freeway. “Drivers stuck in traffic could watch rail whizzing by . . . and hopefully contemplate taking the train next time,” Linton said in his blog, L.A. Creek Freak.
For now, the state of California and the Rail Authority are pushing ahead with their agenda, and the community continues to respond to it accordingly. Other states such as Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio and Illinois have also applied for grants. According to c
hief spokesperson for the United States Department of Transportation Mark Paustenback, a decision may be made within a few weeks.
“The high-speed rail project is an opportunity to enhance mobility while setting the table for future river revitalization, but it will take some funding, coordination, creativity, smart planning and community input to arrive at the solution that makes the most sense,” Linton said.
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