California’s High-Speed Rail
Southern California is known for its horrendous traffic. A proposed bullet train seeks to solve that problem. The trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco that normally takes six hours by car could take less than three hours on the 220-mph train.
Future plans involve expanding the number of stations to San Diego and Sacramento, allowing residents to travel in between cities for their jobs. It sounds like a dream come true for many Californians, but this high-speed rail might not be going anywhere.
Construction on the first 29 miles began in January 2015, seven years after a $10 billion bond package was approved by voters. The initial projected cost of $33 billion has turned into $68 billion, making it the most expensive public works project in the U.S., according to TheWeek.com.
An initial $10 billion bond package was approved in 2008 to help fund construction of the train by 2029. Lawsuits over land use filed by farmers and residents near the proposed rail’s pathway and environmentalists have delayed the project.
As of February 2015, only $26 billion of funding was accounted for, and private investors remain the project’s main hope. Those in opposition of the train are trying to get 500,000 signatures to cancel the project.