Ohnsman, A. O. (2022, July 16). California Bullet Train Gets $4.2 Billion Green Light For First Phase While Bigger Challenges Loom. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2022/07/16/california-bullet-train-gets-42-billion-green-light-for-first-phase-while-bigger-challenges-loom/?sh=83cd06b25b13
The California High Speed Rail project, which has been approved for construction since 2008, is finally making a dent in construction, despite a probable lack of funding for the rest of the project. Construction in Fresno is in full swing, as well as track and infrastructure being laid in the central valley. This project is controversial, although most agree that the final project will be beneficial to California and the U.S as a whole, considering that the U.S has been an extremely slow adaptor to the global high speed rail frenzy that has been happening for 6 decades essentially everywhere else in the world.
High speed rail is an extremely environmentally-preferable alternative to personal vehicles, and its lack of existence in the U.S is scary. Without a car in the U.S, it is almost impossible to live comfortably. This project would be extremely beneficial to commuters in California as well as people looking to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles more quickly and efficiently than by car, without the price and inconveniences of plane travel. Having this train would also inspire more similar projects to begin in the U.S, which could, if done properly, create a sustainable alternative to car travel. I think that this project would open a lot of people’s minds towards high speed rail transportation, considering that it would shave more than two hours off of a trip to L.A from San Francisco, when compared to car travel. I also think that this would help connect all of California into a single community. Being able to reach friends and family in Southern California from Northern California through a day trip (considering the sub 3 hour ride time) would connect us a lot more than we are now.
Glad you found this article, James. That high speed rail has been dogging us for a while now. You are clearly pro- train. Me too. I voted for it. It is proving to be very expensive… and divisive as they are trying to build the infrastructure it needs. It becomes a NIMBY thing (not in my back yard). What do you think? Could a project like this be replicable in other parts of the US. Would people use it over flying?
Glad to hear that you’re for it too, but it has proved to be a grueling process. I believe that once the system is in place, it could change a lot of peoples minds, as there is a lot of controversy over the system at the moment. I do think that this project can and will be replicated in other parts of the U.S. I certainly think at some point, HSR could be preferable over flying, but it would take a lot of money and time to create efficient systems all over the U.S to achieve. However, in countries like Italy, HSR networks have certainly taken over the long-distance travel market to the point where certain domestic Italian airlines have gone bankrupt.