California's Bullet Train

I just returned from a trip to Japan where I had a chance to ride the incredible bullet train. There really is nothing like it--and I can't imagine how the Tokyo metropolitan population would manage without it. There is absolutely no way the airports in the Tokyo area could handle all of the domestic travel needs of the 35 million residents in and around Tokyo. We are quickly approaching the same situation in the Los Angeles area. A recent opinion piece by Dan Walters in the SacBee highlighted the failed expansion plans of all the major airports in the southland and San Francisco. The Sacramento airport traffic is up 25 percent from pre-911 levels.

A high-speed rail system has been under consideration in California for a decade and over $30 million has been spent to study this alternative. A California bullet train will not only relieve air traffic congestion and take auto traffic off our over-crowded highways, it will also dramatically reduce the State's green house gas emissions; over 40 percent of these emissions are attributed to transportation sources.

The Sacramento News and Review has been following the politics surrounding the HSR in several recent articles, and the Sacramento Bee is also paying attention. At issue is initial planning and infrastructure funding and whether or not a bond for the system should be placed before the voters in 2008. With gas prices close to $4 a gallon, climate change and middle east unrest, it would be hard to imagine such a bond not passing. In 2003, two-thirds of Californians favored the idea.

The Governor's original budget proposal of $1.2 million was just enough to keep the HSR plans on life-support. He also proposed postponing a 2008 bond measure designed to fund the initial infrastructure development. Now, however, the "Green Governor" appears to be changing course. The Governor penned a recent editorial in the Fresno Bee:

As the recent Bay Area freeway collapse illustrated -- and as a recent Bee editorial correctly pointed out -- Californians need and deserve a diverse array of transportation options. I absolutely believe high-speed rail should be one of those alternatives.

A network of high-speed rail lines connecting cities throughout California would be a tremendous benefit to our state.

Not only would its construction bring economic development and the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs, but once completed, we would also see improvements to our air quality, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, congestion relief on our highways and greater mobility for people living in the Valley and other areas of our state currently underserved by other forms of transportation.

Walters believes there is not much support in the State legislature for the HSR, given a current deficit. With the Governor's recent show of support perhaps that will change but we should not be complacent. Everyone should write their State representatives to let them know you support full funding for the project. Let's get the HSR plans back on track.