Construction on California’s high-speed rail project could start as early as 2013 after the federal government approved the Merced-to- Fresno route. The decision by the Federal Railroad Administration to sign off on the 60-mile route, as well as the environmental review, is welcome news for all supporters of rail in the San Joaquin Valley.
The sooner construction begins on the project, the sooner the San Joaquin Valley will enjoy the benefits — which include  job creation and other economic activity.
All of California will one day be thankful when the high-speed rail system finally connects the huge state.
There are still many significant hurdles in the way of the project. Several lawsuits have been threatened and opponents have looked for every opportunity to slow the project.
The federal approval was needed because the Obama administration has allocated about $3.3 billion for the first phase of the project in the Valley. High- speed rail will eventually connect San Francisco and Los Angeles through the San Joaquin Valley.
The region is the right place to start the project. Nearly everyone who has studied high-speed rail says it makes sense to build the first segment in a flat, unobstructed place where trains can reach the highest speeds and the system can be tested and refined.
It will be a transportation system that will lead California through the 21st-century transportation needs.
California needs transportation alternatives, Â they simply can’t build enough freeways to handle the state’s growing population. High-speed rail is an investment in the future that will be paid for over time — just like any major infrastructure project.
Local leaders applauded the federal government’s recent action on the project.
“The start of the Fresno- to-Merced segment will provide a much- needed economic boost for our area through the high- paying construction jobs that will be created,” said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin. Fresno County Supervisor Henry R. Perea said high-speed rail will provide an “incredible new form of transportation,” in addition to bringing much-needed jobs to the region’s residents.
We agree with their assessment of the latest step that high-speed rail has taken.
The Californians are being given the chance to reinvent the European rail experience of the late twentieth century. Too late, too slow and too expensive.
This the problem with many American critics of high speed rail: they’re either fiscal conservatives who baulk at the high taxpayer cost of such a project or they’re a dreamer who feels insulted that America needs to use a technology invented and developed outside of America and instead of rather that America spend huge dollops of cash working on some amazing space age alternative like something which is similar to maglev but a billion times better. I’ve even heard “tubes” or “personal transportation devices” banded about.
High Speed Rail is the right technology for now and the next century. Meglev isn’t proven beyond the odd Airport to City express with its own track and won’t be able to handle the complex challenges of either a long distance high speed railway or a multi use rail network.
Besides, the Japanese already beat you guys to it as they’re taking a huge gamble on a Tokyo to Osaka maglev 😉