California's Bullet Train Underway

unintentional misspelling on Siemens' display at state capitol

Governor Jerry Brown of California convinced the state's voters to take on the most ambitious public works project in a half-century, the high speed rail link between Los Angeles and San Francisco. If the project is built to completion it will extend from Sacramento to San Diego. The 2008 referendum authorized a $10 billion bond package to pay for part of the project. Seven years later the high speed rail is two years behind schedule due to a bloom of land disputes, lawsuits, and escalating costs. The projected price tag is now $68 billion, the most expensive in US history. Nevertheless, to California's credit, construction began in January; the line's future is as dark as a tunnel. Critics are attempting to put a referendum on the ballot to stop building.

It is well lamented the US is way behind Europe and Asia in rapid rail transport, and the bullet train was promoted as way to bring California at least into the 21st century of transportation. California, which had followed a model of private passenger cars on high-speed freeways that turned into a smog and traffic choked nightmare, seem to be the ideal poster child for a rapid rail link between its major cities. The rail is sited in the Central Valley, California's farm country, so land acquisition has been a problem. Only 101 of 565 parcels of land have been purchased. Central Valley farmers have put up a legal fusillade, not to mention suits by environmentalists and developers in the planned path of the project.

Funding has also been difficult. California's legislature voted to spend 25% of future emissions trading revenue on the rail line, but combined with the bond measure and $3.3 million federal stimulus money, the total only amounts to $26 billion. High-Speed Rail Authority want private investment to fund a third of the estimated total cost. Whether private funders will get on board midst the skepticism is problematical. The intercity trip is scheduled to take only three hours compared to six by highway. Yet the line must negotiate existing slow speed tracks in both cities before hitting its maximum velocity in in the Valley. Environmental skeptics also say the rail line is an encouragement to urban sprawl since a fast rail commute could turn Bakersfield into a "bedroom community" at the expense of agriculture. By 2050 California's population is expected to be 50 million and they all cannot drive to work with the hope of getting there before the end of the day. Mass transit is California's hope and rapid rail has worked well in other congested nations, notably Japan. To keep federal funding coming California must spend at least $4 billion building the line by October 2017 so the project has a momentum of sorts. Visionaries still have their doubts. They say the bullet train will be obsolete by 2030 and building it is a waste when a truly advanced system could be created with the billions of funding.

courtesy: HSRA

There is Elon Musk's "hyperloop" that sounds more like a carnival ride than practical mass transport. It is supposed to work on the same principal as the vacuum tubes that once delivered mail between downtown buildings. Insert passengers in a capsule, pull the switch, and suck them at 760mph to the other end of the tube. Even the inventor says, "It's like getting a ride on Space Mountain at Disneyland".  He has the money to test his idea in Texas where he is building a track to entice investors. You first. US Person rode France's TGV from Paris to Provence and he thinks that is a lot better than a capsule in a vacuum tube.