High Speed Rail: The National Landscape

Nationally 2 high speed rail projects have moved beyond “gee, wouldn’t it be nice if we could zip between cities on a train at high speeds” conjecture.

• California has a state funded high speed rail proposal that is in the process of construction
  • Voters approved $10 Billion
  • 520 miles of track
  • has fought landowners and has been using eminent domain
• Texas high speed rail project is considered to be more than just conjecture & is privately funded.
  • Seeks to raise $10-$12 billion
  • 240 miles of track
  • Has encountred troubled landowners
  • May “avoid some of the intense public scrutiny and endless political interventions to which the California plan has been subjected”

A professor at the  Intermodal Transportation Institute says Texas’ public-private model has the highest odds.

San Diego Daily Transcript