High-Speed Rail Costs Grow in California
- Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:07pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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Long-awaited environmental impact documents were released Tuesday for the Central Valley sections of California’s high-speed rail project, revealing that building tracks for the first section of the proposed project will cost $2.9 billion to $6.8 billion more than originally estimated. According to The Business Journal of Fresno the project has already received $5.5 billion in federal dollars and is counting on another $12 billion from private investors and nearly $10 billion from bonds approved by voters in 2008.
A 2009 business plan developed for the California High-Speed Authority had originally estimated costs at about $7.1 billion for the equivalent stretch of tracks. Officials say those estimates were made before detailed engineering work and feedback from communities along the proposed route. The Sacramento Bee reports on the criticisms that have plagued the project from day 1:
“The decision to start the planned 800-mile system in the Central Valley linking relatively small towns, has generated criticism that the project could become a high-priced ‘train to nowhere.’ In a critical report earlier this year, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office said the rail line should start near coastal population centers and recommended moving control of the project from the largely independent rail board to the state Department of Transportation. The eventual plan is for a system of high-speed trains running from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim, with stops in the Central Valley.
Critics say the higher cost estimates contained in the environmental reports, the first detailed look at the project, is another warning sign that the rail line should be halted until cost and routing questions can be worked out.”
The plan to approve the inaugural Central Valley stretch of tracks in December 2010 drew early criticism. Representative Dennis Cardoza, a Central Valley Democrat, told the New York Times in January:
“For the California High-Speed Rail Authority to choose this route is to significantly undermine the public’s trust, marks a gross misuse of taxpayer funds and will alienate significant supporters of the project.”
Republican state senators like Doug La Malfa of Willows are preparing legislation that would ask voters to reconsider the project in June 2012.
“This thing is well on its way to massive cost overruns.The costs are starting to escalate and we need to take a time-out.”
Voters authorized $9 billion in bonds for the project in 2008, although most of those bonds have not yet been sold.
California has looked to guidance from China in implementing their high-speed rail, even after a massive bullet train crash last month that killed 32 and injured 191. At the expense of the Chinese Ministry of Railways, a group of state lawmakers flew this week to China to see if California can learn anything from that country about building a high-speed rail system.
With a $20 billion deficit and an inability to close it, plans like a costly high-speed rail project suggest that any hope of lowering debt in California is perhaps going nowhere.
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Comments (81)
Wixom35
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:07pmMaybe I am wrong – but checking the numbers, I found the following
Report Post »Initial Miles of track: Merced to Fresno = 65 Miles + Fresno to Bakersfield = 113 miles = 178 miles
Estimated total cost: $10B to $13.9B = $56.1M to $78M a mile! I would like an independent firm to run a break even report on this. Let the folks in CA pay for this and leave the rest of us taxpayers out of it. Hey Nancy P. maybe you and your husband could lead by investing 5 miles of track!
CatB
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:54pmSo glad Florida’s new governor Scott said no to OBAMA and his high speed “train”!
TEA!
Report Post »Non-regulator
Posted on August 10, 2011 at 12:56amHey, the bums (literally) need a ride too. If you ever ride public transportation, your seat could be moist. I know because I drive, temporarily.
Report Post »snidley-whiplash
Posted on August 10, 2011 at 1:18amThe only thing that grows in californification is illegal immigrants.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on August 10, 2011 at 1:45amThat’s what I say Wix. Why is every taxpayer in the nation on the hook for this? The reason the cost is higher is because probably that money was handed out to political cronies. It’s a wasteful project and not one I would think is even necessary. CA is not NY, yes, traffic does grind to a halt in some places, but overall, it is not that big of an issue. I am fed up with government trying to create people movers to contain and trap. And that is what it actually is…….
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on August 10, 2011 at 7:43amTHE HAVE 5.5 BILLION AND HVEN’T LAID THE FIRST TRACK AND ARE ALREADY LOOKING FOR ANOTHER 12 BILLION. As a tax payer I want my 5.5 billion back how the hell do you go over budget before you start the project
Report Post »bankerpapaw
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:06pmGo on down the tubes, California.
Report Post »Ray2447
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:18pm“Go on down the tubes, California.”
Lead the way D.C.
Report Post »carbonyes
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:59pmAnything that the government is in any way involved in ends up being a failure with huge cost overruns, and becomes even further burdensome when the project needs subsidized. California is like a big sink hole, which continues to breed economic disaster after disaster. Debt continues to climb. Wasteful spending continues with no efforts to cut or curtail. Let her crumble, and then begin to dig her out with a complete revamping of it’s entire government. Riots in the streets. Funnel their path to the legislature. When the poor ba$tard$ who are running the State in the ground see the results of their failed policies, may they all resign or face the ire of the demonstrators. California would be a microcosm of the entire countries implosion. Learn from that disaster and make the necessary changes elsewhere.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:30pmMoney is no object. They have a raccoon in the White House.
Report Post »American Capitalist
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:55pmGee.. who’d a thunk it??
Report Post »Cheetosareus
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:52pmOf course the cost is going up…what in California isn’t going up. Maybe they will have enough sense to divide the state in two and the liberal side can self destruct without taking the smart people down with them.
Report Post »BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:29pmI’m just getting the heck out. I hate it here. Hubby’s job promised we would only be here for no more than 6 months. Now we are going on month 10. Somebody get me out of here!!!
That said- Thank you Lord that my husband has a good job- Amen.
Report Post »mikester8888
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:51pmNancyyyy……Nancy……Miss. Peloski………..Nancy you said everthing would be a utopia…….Ms. Peloski…….wheres the change Nancy……Are you not going to pay my rent, buy my food, what about some gas vouchers. Can i sleep in the lobby of your multi million dollar office complex i paid for…..Wheres the wealth…..take some from all these actors and millionaires and billionairs like you promised and give me some…..make it out to cash…..say around ten thou aught to get it……Nancyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:35pmAnd The Left Criticized Florida for telling Obama to shove his High speed rail?Maybe we would be better off Giving California to Mexico and Giving Statehood to Puerto Rico?Governor Fortuño seems to be doing O.K.!
Report Post »Dougral Supports Israel
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:34pmI have no idea how they think they are going to pay for it, especially the cost of the entire 800 mile system. Then they will be stuck with perpetual subsidies because there’s no way those trains will pay for themselves. One would think that facing huge yearly deficits and an estimated 500 billion in unfunded pension obligations that they wouldn’t want to incur more debt. I guess Liberalism is akin to alcoholism, you won’t seek to change it until you hit bottom.
Report Post »beekeeper
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:48pmWhen CA built the BART system one of the ways they choose to fund it was to increase sales taxes in the areas served by BART – they added 0.5% to the tax rate to help fund the system.
I suspect they will implement a similar tax – California has a fondness for taxing her citizens.
Report Post »miles from nowhere
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:31pmBraindead people in the Third World State of California never did mind wasting everyones money for a stupid cause.
Report Post »leftcoastslut
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:28pmthere is no reason to build a high speed rail in the san joaquin valley, people don’t live in Delano and work in Los Angeles. and on the other hand, people don’t work in Los Angles and live in Stockton… pipe dream, we need to correct this
Report Post »1TrueOne55
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:30pmThe politicians need a way for the Hollywood money to get to them faster…
Report Post »PelositheGreat
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:21pmBWaaahhaaahaaahaaa……
Californians are stupid.
Report Post »Ray2447
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:49pmMore Californians voted Republican in the last election than the entire populations of most red states so carte blance sterotyping of Californians as leftists is ignorant and prejudiced. If Ronald Reagan, yes Ronald Reagan, had put a stop to illegal immigration into the U. S. (especially California) during his administration, instead of legalizing amnesty and kicking the can down the road, California would still be a red state. But oh my, cheap illegal labor benefited business, and cheap illegal labor at one time had CA the 6th largest economy in the world, sending billions in tax revenue to D.C. so Republicans turned their heads and still don’t talk about that.
Furthermore, Roe v. Wade allowed women (a woman’s choice) to murder over 50, 000, 000 human beings since it passed. Republicans have looked the other way on illegal immigration for decades to get the cheap labor that those aborted fetuses would have taken. You can joke all you want about California, but it‘s Reagan’s amnesty, that has largely set up CA and turned CA blue through all the decades of illegal immigrants coming in. I watched my neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley go from clean and crime free to being covered over with hispanic gang graffitti words and it really took off during Reagan’s administration. The next time you feel like stereotyping every resident of CA, try remembering all the millions of good Republicans who still live here. :-/
Report Post »SirFlannel
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:21pmWhat? A Government project ran over budget??? You guys are makin that up!!
Report Post »NuffSaid
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:19pmCalifornia is too stupid to “consider” anything. You should see the legislature. Looks like a gathering of sud-suckers at a Dodgers game. Don’t look for any help, sensibility or rational thought from this pit of perverts and second generation welfare fraud freaks.
Report Post »paulusmaximus
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:05pmMaybe the Californians should take another look at the bullet train in Japan.
Report Post »1TrueOne55
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:29pmYeah at least they are an ally in the world and not an enemy. And they have had high speed rail for many decades now.
Report Post »Banter
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:02pmI thank you Governor Rick Scott stopping this debacle in the making.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:28pmeveryone in Florida should read this
Report Post »flagbearer
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:47pmPeople in Florida need to get down on their knees and thank God for Gov. Scott! He called this one so right. And, the states that get this “grant” money are fools. They just don’t know it yet.
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:59pmIf we want to do rails in the us, we should get our heavy rail system back to a world class system, it makes a lot more sense to do all our long haul trucking by rail, and then get office workers the ability to telework more. It’s insane to have millions driving miles into offices to set at a desk, answer phones, and type on computers when they can do the work at home easier and better. I’d work at home for 10 hours and only bill for 8 if they would let me.
Report Post »Quagaar Warrior
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:50pm~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Report Post »Hey Californians, Stupid is as stupid votes.
Keep voting democrat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13th Imam
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:12pm5.5 Billion FEDERAL Dollars?
No such thing as FEDERAL Dollars. This is money mostly stolen from Actual American Non-Californian Taxpayers. Why doesn’t Cal. tax all their leeches , from the poorest to the richest if they want Golden State Style Perks.
Report Post »Ray2447
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:01pmThe Republican party won’t support good Republican candidates who run in CA, and they don’t even run ads on TV for Republican presidential candidates. The Republican party has written off all the good Republicans who live in CA, but that’s not new. All the Republican party has done in CA for years is ask for money for their party – NONE OF WHICH EVER MAKES IT BACK TO SUPPORT LOCAL CANDIDATES. I’m getting real sick of the hypocrisy of the Republican party, but especially sick of the hypocrisy and prejudice of those posters on “The Blaze” who stereotype everyone in my state with their ignorance and/or lies.
Report Post »Ray2447
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:15pmThat’s grossly hypocritical, considering how many billions of tax dollars have left CA over the decades to fund federal projects in states that clearly couldn’t pay for their expensive projects themselves.
Two term Republican, CA, Governor, George Deukmajian and two term Republican, CA, Governor, Pete Wilson had CA in the black before Democrat, Governor, Grey Davis came into office with an 8 billion dollar surplus. His inagural comment, “The richest economy on earth,” or something close to that proved to be fool’s talk coming from the mouth of a tax and spend Democrat. It was all down hill from there, and what good did it do to elect Republican Schwarzenegger as Gov., following the recall of Davis, when the state houses remained very solidly Democrat. Schwarzenegger tried to control out of control spending, but never could get anything past the tax and spend Democrats. Yea, thank you federal gov’t (starting with Reagan) for taking our money for decades and selling CA out to illegal immigration so we can‘t even elect a Republican gov’t anymore.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:20pmRay
in a couple of years my bride and i are fleeing Konnecticut, another stupid DEMOCRAT state. I apologize for the progressives in my state all the time.
Report Post »tr68gt
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:37pmAnd that‘s exactly why we didn’t want it here in Florida. Between massive cost overruns that the state would be on the hook for, and a public that doesn’t support it, think this is the way to do business?
Report Post »Hobbs57
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:13pmI was thinking about how the Governor in Florida passed on the rail money as he tried to explain to the voters how it would cost significantly more to build and run the state into deep debt. That idiot Debbie W. was bashing him from day one. Good for him for being smart about it.
At about the same time, as they were cutting bus routes here in Pittsburgh do to funding problems, they were building a bike path, 3/4 of a mile long and it was going to cost over 3 million. I would love to know who gets these contracts because I promise you I could build the nicest trail they ever seen while employing a number of contractors for $400,000. Of course, we wouldn’t be Union, so we could never get such a contract anyways. They need that extra 2.6 million for special reasons unknown to me…. lol
Report Post »quickstudy
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:34pmThank You Gov. Scott Walker for stopping the rail line here in Wisconsin!
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:31pmI find it ironic that the Sacramento Bee seems to be the only newspaper that makes sense. Corect me if I’m wrong Californians, but it seems to me that city is the only one with common sense. I live near Ohio and thank the good Lord they decided not to build a high speed rail from Cincy, Columbus, Cleveland. Oh and did I mention the top speed was 70 MPH!!
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:39pmAND the average speed from Cincinnati to Cleveland would 35mph. So a 200 mile trip that you can do in you car is 4 hours; the HIGH SPEED train will get you there in 5hrs and 45 min.—plus travel to and from the train station.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:54pmStoic
That would make a great puzzler on Click & Clack. Ironic it being on NPR, if only
Report Post »Wixom35
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:51pmKY Patriot – you dodged a bullet Son! Cleveland is now dead! 12 years ago life had started to take seed – but the liberal city government sprayed Roundup on it. Columbus would be a neat city to share Louisville with; but Cincy – sprayed Roundup like Cleveland did and is in the same FUBaR situation! (Screwed up beyond Repair)
Report Post »Clean House
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:20pmIT IS AN IMPORTANT LINK FOR “Agenda 21”
Report Post »John 1776
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:34pmIs this the “manure fork ready” project that is going to destroy the farms out in CA?
Report Post »flagbearer
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:44pmI’m glad to see someone mention that it is part of Agenda 32. We had a local county meeting last night in which members of the Planning Commission and Supervisors were invited to attend. Only one member of the Planning Commission came, and he was downright insulting after viewing a film about UN Agenda 21. It explained how this policy/program is taking away all property rights. Property rights in the county are in deep trouble. The film brought out many things that most people still aren’t aware of and how it is dividing people in the nation–another redistribution of wealth. Wake up America! If you haven’t attended a meeting about this, or if you are not involved in your Planning Commission, do so immediately. Things are on the fast track, and light rail is just one component of this evil. It sounds good until you understand.
Report Post »flagbearer
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:52pmI don’t know how Agenda 32 appeared in my post–should be 21.
Report Post »xoke
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:18pmThis is as bad as the president with his “infastructure investment” talk. Why don’t politicians understand?! Yes, if you build a bridge a guy works for a few months…but what people miss is the opportunity costs. What if you didn’t tax the **** out of everyone, let them keep there money, and some other business decided to expand and hire the bridge builder permanently. High speed rail is even worse than a bridge, because it has to be maintained…FOREVER.
LOOK AT AMTRAC!!!! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!
Report Post »Dont-hate-on-me-2
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:23pmGet rid of the damn thing. Dont want it anyway. Another failed idea. Another state goverment money pit
Report Post »sooner12
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:35pmHow much of the $5.5 billion of “federal” dollars is left? Send it back ans finance the project alone.
Report Post »Clean House
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:16pmThank you Florida Govenor Rick Scott for Stopping This Light Rail in Florida
Report Post »Hickory
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:13pmIt’s a union thing. Milk it for all you can get.
Report Post »Obama Snake Oil Co
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 4:29pmToo bad you ran out of other peoples money and corporate income. How many billions do you owe?
Report Post »A Doctors Labor Is Not My Right
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:16pmWe owe a crap load, my friend. This progressive hell-hole will take down the rest of the country if you bail it out. Hands off – let us fall and maybe we’ll learn something.
“So the Boom turns to Bust as the interest rates rise with the cost of production; Price signals were lies. The Boom was a binge, that’s a matter of fact. Now it’s devalued capital that makes up the slack.” – Fear the Boom and Bust
Intervention and Economic Crisis
Report Post »http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/woods129.html
Jenny Lind
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:19pmToo bad you ran most of the businesses out of California too. Oh , and the illegal aliens who are moving back to Mexico, who ya gonna tax? Idiots.
Report Post »A Doctors Labor Is Not My Right
Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:20pm@Jenny Lind,
“Too bad you ran most of the businesses out of California too.”
California even wants to ditch the Electoral College, which is unConstitutional. California is not fit to be part of the Constitutional compact between the several states of the Union. I hope there are enough of us to replace these Marxists and labor cartels.
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