A critical vote in the California Senate set for this week (likely Thursday) will be a make-or-break moment for the ambitious plan to build high speed rail in the state starting late this year.
The federal government has demanded the state legislature approve or deny issuance of $2.7 billion in state voter approved bonds to match $3.3 billion in federal monies to begin the construction of the 130 mile stretch through the Central Valley.
Critics have called this segment the “train to nowhere” because this Madera to Bakersfield section would not immediately connect high speed rail to the state’s big metro areas although Amtrak would fill the gap for a while. Farmers in the Central Valley have led the charge to kill the project and have already sued over the plan they say will hurt their production.
Both Madera and Merced Farm Bureaus have sued in Sacramento court. Backed by the ag industry,Kings County has also sued to stop the project as well. Greg Gatzka, Kings County’s community development director has estimated that the train would cut across more than 7,000 acres of farm fields, resulting in an $8.2 million annual loss in production value.
But led by Governor Jerry Brown the bullet train has enough support in the state Assembly but is on the edge in the Senate where 21 votes are needed to move forward. All GOP member oppose the project requiring most Democrats to support it. Speculation has the measure short by a few votes.
“Suck it in,” Brown told an audience gathered last month for the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. Referring to the revised high speed rail plan he emphasized “We got to build, we got to do it right.”
The revised rail plan lowers the total cost from an anticipated $100 billion to $68 billion and in an effort to get support from major population centers offers to do $800 million in rail connections in the larger metro areas simultaneously as the first Central Valley segment is built.
“Our new plan makes major investments in regional and local rail systems throughout the state,” said CHSRA chair Dan Richard in a statement. “In the BART system, MUNI, Caltrain, Transbay Terminal, the ACE train in the Central Valley, Metrolink in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles to San Diego Amtrak service…all of these things will benefit from the investment program that high-speed rail is leading.”
“We’re talking about more than $10 Billion of investments not only in high-speed rail, but also in regional and local rail systems,” continued Richard.
Supporters says the electrified project would help clean the air and must be viewed vs simply building more freeways and airports to move people in the state in coming decades.
Critics call the project wasteful and say the state cannot afford it right now adding the money would be better used for education.
Brown remains the prime mover here walking in the footsteps of his father, the former governor, who built the state water project mired in controversy and doubt at the time – winning approval in the legislature by one vote in 1959. It remains the largest state financed project ever built and today serves about 25 million people.
If the vote in the Senate fails, the Obama administration has said it will reallocate the $3.3 billion to other states who want the money.