Put high-speed rail in San Joaquin Valley first
Walter Strakosch
San Francisco Chronicle
September 9, 2010
"High-speed rail has been a fact in Japan since 1964 and throughout Europe (France first) since 1981. High-speed rail is a great way to travel and may become a fact in California. Before that happens, however, the planned system should be structured with the best operating and financial scenario possible in order to protect the taxpayer (you and me) and to attract the necessary outside investors.
The total cost of the planned California system will exceed $40 billion. In addition to $9 billion in bond money, plus local grants and federal funding, the California High-Speed Rail Authority hopes for outside investors to defray $10 billion to $12 billion of the costs. Before that happens, though, those investors will need to see a potential return. The hitch? The way the phasing or building of the system is currently proposed may not produce a return.
Phase one of the California high-speed rail system is planned for San Francisco to Anaheim, followed by Los Angeles to San Diego, and then Merced to Sacramento. Phase One is to be built in segments. They are, with the first two segments having priority:
(1) Los Angeles to Anaheim,
(2) San Francisco to San Jose, and
(3) Bakersfield to Merced. The cost to build the 30 miles from Los Angeles to Anaheim and the 50 miles from San Francisco to San Jose is estimated at $9.9 billion. I suggest a less risky approach: Build the Bakersfield to Merced segment first..."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...EDEI1FAHET.DTL