[M II A II R II K]

Bullet train's first segment, reserved for Southland, could open in Bay Area instead

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...123-story.html

A valuable perk handed to Southern California from the bullet train project — a 2012 decision to build the first operating segment from Burbank north into the Central Valley — is being reconsidered by state officials. The state rail authority is studying an alternative to build the first segment in the Bay Area, running trains from San Jose to Bakersfield.

If the plan does change, it would be a significant reversal that carries big financial, technical and political impacts, especially in Southern California. --- “You can’t ignore Southern California or Los Angeles or Orange County and say we are going to go north, period,” said Richard Katz, a longtime Southern California transportation official and former Assembly majority leader. “It made sense to start in the south, given the population and the serious transportation problems here.”

The original decision to start the initial segment in Burbank was considered a major economic benefit to the region, providing commuters with 15-minute rides to Palmdale, a connection to a future Las Vegas bullet train and an early link to the growing Central Valley. --- But the state is facing major difficulties with the south-first plan. By building in the north initially, the state would delay the most difficult and expensive segment of the entire $68-billion project: traversing the geologically complex Tehachapi and San Gabriel mountains with a large system of tunnels and aerial structures.

With the project already behind schedule and facing estimates of higher costs, the Bay Area option could offer a faster, less risky and cheaper option. Getting even a portion of the project built early would help its political survival. --- The outcome of the new evaluation will be known in the coming weeks, when the state unveils its 2016 Business Plan. The document will be the most comprehensive update for the $68-billion program in four years. A decision to drop its plan to start the system in Southern California will not be popular among area civic leaders.

.....