High Speed Rail Coming to California! w00t!
#1

Four years after the voters of California approved a proposition to establish a high-speed rail system in the state, the California High Speed Rail Authority today approved a business plan that lays out a roadmap to build the 800-mile system by 2029.

Politicians, union representatives, young voters and transportation advocates crammed the Milton Marks Conference Center in San Francisco to speak publicly in support of the $68-billion project, which is projected to create thousands of jobs, and will ultimately transport passengers between Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco's future transit center in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said the future Transbay Transit Center in the city's South of Market District will be the "Grand Central Station of the West," and said that integrating high-speed trains into the state's transit goals is key for the economic future of California.

"High-speed rail will revolutionize how Californians travel, commute and move around the state," Lee said. "We can no longer simply add more highways, infrastructure and airport runways to ease congestion."

Lee also applauded the CHSRA for incorporating into its business plan early investments in local transit systems at high-speed rail's "bookends" in the Los Angeles basin and the Bay Area, which chart a course for the electrification of Caltrain and the expansion of L.A.'s Metrolink.

"Caltrain electrification invests in a transit spine that connects the cities of San Jose and San Francisco to Silicon Valley and the Peninsula corridor and supports the continued health of a critical jobs engine in the Bay Area," Lee said.

Along with unanimously approving its business plan, the CHSRA also approved an agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to match more than $700 million in funds for the Caltrain electrification project, and to prepare the Peninsula rail corridor for the eventual accommodation of high-speed trains on a blended track system.

"It's the most important thing we can do for generations to come," Lee said.

http://johnboitnott.visibli.com/share/4ERJ8o
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#2
This is a waste of money. Buses serve better. And, these things will deliver an uncomfortable ride, that occaisionally ends in disaster.
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#3
(04-14-2012, 05:28 PM)illcommandante Wrote: This is a waste of money. Buses serve better. And, these things will deliver an uncomfortable ride, that occaisionally ends in disaster.

You ain't shittin' it's a waste of money. 8 BILLION dolars spent just on studies. This thing will NEVER make a penny for the state of California. They have already sold any profits to the highest private bidder.

http://againstcaliforniahsr.com/ridershi...g#more-851

Quote:Rail Authority Puts Lipstick On Their High-Speed Pig



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#4
Here's an excellent page on HSR...

Earlier this year, a poll found twice as many Americans support high-speed rail than oppose it, with 49 percent of those surveyed favoring high-speed rail. About one-third, 32 percent, said they would use high-speed rail service rather than driving or taking a plane. One-quarter of respondents, 26 percent, said they oppose building high-speed rail corridors.

Opposition to high-speed rail is mostly based on a handful of claims. We offer critical facts that illustrate the other side of the debate...


http://www.highspeedrailworks.org/about-us/myths-facts/
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#5
The "Red Car" rolls along the streets of San Diego, half empty. Because it costs less to drive your car to work. It's just an opportunity to milk those who can't afford their own transportation. And, it is very uncomfortable. And, it cost a fortune.
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#6
8 billion for studies?
How do I get in on that?
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#7
(04-14-2012, 08:35 PM)Green Wrote: Here's an excellent page on HSR...

Earlier this year, a poll found twice as many Americans support high-speed rail than oppose it, with 49 percent of those surveyed favoring high-speed rail. About one-third, 32 percent, said they would use high-speed rail service rather than driving or taking a plane. One-quarter of respondents, 26 percent, said they oppose building high-speed rail corridors.

Opposition to high-speed rail is mostly based on a handful of claims. We offer critical facts that illustrate the other side of the debate...


http://www.highspeedrailworks.org/about-us/myths-facts/

It sure would be nice to know how they plan on paying for their desires. Seems the 26%ers are the only logical ones in the bunch.

http://againstcaliforniahsr.com/ridershi...d-approach

Quote:Rail Authority admits in Senate Hearing it lacks a clear Funding Plan
Posted on March 19, 2012 by Mark

And yet they still propose spending $6 billion on a Central Valley Railroad

Dan Richard, Chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, told Senators and the public at a Senate Hearing held March 13 that with respect to the about-to-be-released Revised 2012 Business Plan:

“I don’t believe we are going to be able to look you in the eye or look the public in the eye and tell them that we have any greater clarity about the funding today than we did on November 1st when we issued our draft plan.” [Note 1]



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#8
You can get in on "Study Money" if you join the gang of thieves selling The Rendatta Fraud. The state has declared them "Shovel Ready". The same state that had them declared dead in the water overt the endangered plants growing square in the middle of this Nazi theft fest.
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#9
Damn. Maybe there is some hope yet. It appears that someone get's it. I bet Jerry will have his job when this hits Sacramento!

Quote:The state's top analyst on Tuesday urged lawmakers to slam the brakes on California's $68 billion bullet train, cautioning that the newly overhauled plan simply isn't "strong enough" and relies on "highly speculative" funding sources.

The report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office is especially significant as the state Senate and Assembly on Wednesday begin a debate on whether to start building the high-speed rail line, a decision officials revealed Tuesday will likely be delayed into the summer. The report could give a divided Legislature the political cover it needs to halt the biggest public works project in California history; otherwise, lawmakers would have to go against the advice of their own experts.

It is the latest in a series of stinging critiques of the project by independent watchdog groups. But it's the first analysis since the Brown administration early this month unveiled a scaled-back version of the rail line that was intended to appease critics by trimming the cost by $30 billion, speeding up the start of service by five years and electrifying the Caltrain line by the end of the decade.

"Our concerns are really legitimate and serious," said Brian Weatherford, the LAO analyst who wrote the report. Without a new outpouring of federal funding, "we don't really see how you could get (the money) to build this thing. That's our primary concern."

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localne...lyst-urges

This is unique amid the shoot from the hip legislation that we usually get in this state. Maybe there is some hope.
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