If you’ve been wondering whatever happened to California’s high speed rail, you’re not the only one. The latest news is that it’s back in court.
So far, the project hasn’t been very “high speed” at anything except rustling up legal issues.
$68 Billion Dollars … and Little to Show for It
The project was approved by California voters in 2008 and was supposed to be the Nations first high-speed rail system in the same league as that seen in Japan and now even China. But it’s been eight years since the project was green lit. The project is hopelessly mired behind schedule and is now stuck again in court because of a lawsuit filed by property owners who lie in the project’s path. In the past, the project had been slowed down because of lawsuits by environmentalists groups.
It get’s worse. For a project whose price tag has steadily climbed, the latest price tag update nearly grazes the $100 billion mark. This is double what Californian’s had thought they’d be paying for this thing.
Better Used Elsewhere
Gerry Brown’s dogged support for the project notwithstanding, Californian’s enthusiasm for the project has since waned — replaced by more immediate concerns. The Hoover Institution, a conservative think-tank operating out of Stanford, thinks that it has found compelling evidence that the majority of those polled would rather divert the funds slated for the high speed rail project to California water conservation. According to the Institute, Californian’s have also withdrawn support of Brown in his support of the project.
Two conservative California policy makers have already submitted the ballot measure language and are awaiting summary and title. If things go their way, we’ll see their proposal in November.
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