PROGRESS: California is on track to construct the first high-speed rail system in the nation.
By Brendan Brown, Staff Writer
Today the average plane ticket for a nonstop flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco is approximately $210. Driving the same distance would cost about $50 but would take at least six hours on a good commute. These are California’s two most popular forms of transportation, meaning that most people who travel between these two cities either have to spend an extraordinary amount time or money for the trip. Imagine the luxury of flight-time with the cost of driving the whole trip and you approach the reality of high-speed rail. California’s current high-speed train project is estimated to run from San Francisco to the LA basin in under three hours by 2029, but not without some adversity.
Ideas for high-speed rail in California trace back to Governor Jerry Brown’s first term when he originally proposed plans for linking Northern and Southern California through modern technology. California voters legitimized Brown’s proposal in 2008 when they approved the issuance of $9.95 billion in federal bonds to the project. Design and construction of the project was handed over to The California High-Speed Rail Authority which estimated a total cost of $68.4 billion for the project’s completion.
Authority ensured that their plan for a sustainable high-speed rail system would benefit California in the long run and cited international examples of success with high-speed rail. Countries such as France, Spain and Taiwan already implemented similar systems that reduced congestion in air and road traffic as well as recorded net-profits from their high-speed rail. Japan’s high-speed rail connection between Tokyo and Osaka reported a net-income of $4.5 billion (U.S.) in 2012. Authority estimated that California’s high-speed rail system will generate $4.3 billion in revenue for the state by 2030.
These profits will only be the beginning of high-speed rail in California, as it is expected to expand from Sacramento to as far as San Diego with Riverside being one of the stops.