On Oct. 15, the California Supreme Court declined to hear the most recent appeal against the state's long-suffering high-speed rail project, thus clearing the way for further construction. And although the $68 billion high-speed endeavor could still face future legal challenges, for now the California High Speed Rail Authority can continue to move forward with a project that seems to be both a gift and a curse.
For the better part of three years, California's controversial bullet train project has been required to trip, stumble and labor over every obstacle placed in its way, when residents simply want an easier way of getting to point A from point B. On the flip side, apparently none of these hardships has been enough to dissuade other states from jumping into the race.
California progresses
In 2012, following President Barack Obama's endorsement, the project was given the green light to move forward and was subsequently put on the fast track.
Unfortunately, the project was then plagued by budgetary inconsistencies. For example, the project was budgeted by the California High Speed Rail Authority for approximately $30 billion, but had to be revised with a new estimate closer to $70 billion.
As time went on, the project met further opposition concerning its environmental impact, if any. Everything culminated in opposition groups seeking the state Supreme Court's opinion on the project and whether funding had been properly identified.
According to the Huffington Post, "One of the arguments made by the plaintiffs ... was that the state failed to identify the funding for the first usable segment of the rail line, having only $6 billion of the estimated $26 billion needed for the first 130 miles."
The state Supreme Court however, elected not to hear the case, freeing the project to move forward.
To partially address funding issues, Gov. Jerry Brown requested this year's Legislature to approve the first permanent funding source for the project. Brown's goal was to set aside a portion of the annual fees the state collects through carbon taxes. This would be a symbolic move that would deliver more money for rail but, unfortunately, not billions a year.
But progress is progress, and the state Supreme Court decision has opened the door for the project to move forward in earnest.
Still, opposition has not gone away entirely and will more than likely raise further appeals in the future. The Citizens for California High-Speed Rail Accountability for one has said that the Supreme Court's decision will not impede their goal of protecting their farmland and way of life, which they believe the high-speed rail threaten.
Texas bullet train
By comparison to California's troubled wrestling match, Texas seems to be coasting forward toward high-speed rail being a reality.
The idea of high-speed rail in Texas is nothing new. Since the 1990s, the Texas transportation authority has kicked around the idea of a high-speed rail line connecting Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio.
It wasn't until the progression of California's project that these plans gained real traction. Recently, the Texas Central High Speed Rail held a meeting to field questions from residents and to unveil possible routes and stations for the hypothetical line. More than 100 people gathered at the Brazos Center in Bryan, Texas, to find out about the plan to connect Dallas to Houston with trains traveling as fast as 205 mph.
Attendees at the meeting were also allowed a glimpse at possible end points, sites and the corresponding routes for the project. One of the main goals for Texas Central is to plug the high-speed rail system into existing public transit infrastructure, at both end points.
Northeast Corridor
In 2010, Amtrak proposed a high-speed rail project to curb travel time between New York and Washington, D.C., to 96 minutes. The plan, which came with a $117 billion price tag, was separated into several phases.
The first phase includes updating the infrastructure to allow Acela trains to operate at higher speeds. Slowly, by 2025, the Acela trains will be phased out in favor of high-speed rail cars that have a maximum speed of 220 mph. Next, the infrastructure will be expanded, connecting New York to Washington, D.C., and then New York to Boston.
When all is said and done, the entire project is expected to be completed by 2040 and cost approximately $151 billion.
This is not the only plan vying for attention in the Northeast Corridor, however. Japanese investors have hitched their wagons to a new technology and form of high-speed rail transport: Magnetic levitation, or maglev. Maglev involves using magnetic forces to push and lift a train and its cars above the track. The lack of friction allows the train to move at incredible speeds, possibly hundreds of miles per hour.
Currently there are also proposals in other areas, like the Midwest — including a Detroit-to-Chicago line — and the Southwest, which ultimately could join California’s high-speed rail system. However, few of the proposals have progressed beyond the preliminary proposal and planning stages.
So although California is running pole position on its way to a high-speed rail future, there are plenty of other states on the track making the race that much more exciting.
