By Tina Fisher Forde
The Forde Files No 97
Togetherness via fast rail
The Forde Files No 97
Share
Tweet
Graphic from Calif. HSR Authority.
Above, new renderings of the proposed High-Speed Rail show the overhead electric lines (barely visible) that will power the trains.
The California High-Speed Rail (HSR) Authority, facing fierce opposition from property owners and governments along the proposed I-14 and San Fernando Valley track alignments, is ramping up its message that the fast rail line will bring Californians together.
"It really does change the dynamics for the entire state," HSR spokesperson Valerie Martinez told the June 16 luncheon meeting of the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce at Don Juan's Restaurant. "It's a different view of how we move around."
People become concerned when faced with something new, said Martinez, who has been working with the HSR project since 2003.
"We're rebuilding a railroad system," she said. "There's a fear factor and a lot of impacts."
The 24 HSR stations along the eventual Sacramento- to- San Diego 800-mile build-out, she said, "are not just platforms – they will be centers for mixed use, housing, retail and commercial business."
The HSR multi-modal transportation hubs, she said, make it easier to commute and will slow the process of urban sprawl.
"The High-Speed Rail will shrink the state and provide an easier way to do business," she said.
Nick Smirnoff
Above, High Speed Rail spokesperson Valerie Martinez, June 16, 2015 Below, from HSR slide at Chamber presentation.
Track construction is under way in the Central Valley, which the Authority calls "the Backbone of the High-Speed Rail." Construction Package 1 covers 29 miles between Madera and Fresno. Environmental clearances are complete for Construction Packages 2 and 3, covering 65 miles between Fresno and the Tulare-Kern County Line, and the design-build contract is executed. Construction Package 4 is the 22 miles between the Tulare-Kern County line and north Bakersfield; the environmental clearances are complete for that segment.
The 70-mile Bakersfield- to- Palmdale segment – with HSR stations at both ends and the challenging Tehachapi Pass in the middle – is in the environmental study stage, with two possible alignments leading down the eastern slope into Mojave.
Martinez said the Authority is not worried by the recent U.S. House of Representatives vote to deny HSR funding.
"Two attempts in the past have failed," she said. "We are confident in federal funding."
She said that California's Cap and Trade policies "will be an ongoing source of funding," and that the Authority has identified additional sources to complete the project.
