My View On: California High Speed Rail

Source: http://sf.streetsblog.org/category/issues-campaigns/high-speed-rail/

The topic of high speed rail in California has always been a subject of controversy among not just railfans, but a lot of California residents. Being a California native, I figured it was pretty much a responsibility of mine to write a post about this highly controversial topic.

I will begin by telling everyone my opinion. I have mixed feelings about California High Speed Rail. This post will contain what I feel are both good and bad about this project.

America has been lagging behind pretty much the whole rest of the developed world when it comes to rail service. The highest speed train that runs currently Amtrak's Acela Express, which runs between Washington DC and Boston. However, the Acela Express only runs at 150 mph at its highest. With the high speed rail in California, a big void in America can be partially filled. With the speeds it can reach, it may be as fast, if not faster, than flying to San Francisco, factoring in the check-in line, the TSA line, and all of the other typical airport stuff. All that, and a one-way fare on the high speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco is currently projected to be $86. In comparison, a one-way ticket on Southwest from LAX to SFO is currently at $212. So a more pleasurable, scenic ride, less hassle, and more than half the price of an airline ticket comes with this high speed rail deal, as it is projected. Wow.

Amtrak is the only major passenger rail company in the US currently.

I also see some bad things about this whole project. More than good, in fact. The first point that I have is the fact that this train will run through quiet, peaceful desert and farmland. Owned land is being disrupted by this process. An argument that people make is that the high speed rail will urbanize most of the currently quiet areas that it will run through. While that will be true on a smaller scale, only naturally occurring urbanization should happen with the HSR.

Another reason that the high speed rail should be bad is the fact that California is down in the dumps economically. It is really not normal for a state to charge as much in taxes as California does. This train project is state funded. What provides the funding? TAXES. As if the gas and sales taxes aren't already enough, they will just keep increasing as the train line continues to be built. And in the eyes of most Californians, those taxes are not worth it. If you want an example, imagine if the train was funded through Kickstarter. The difference between the way they are doing it now and doing it through Kickstarter is that Kickstarter is an optional way to get citizens to fund the train, while taxes are a mandatory way to get citizens to fund the train. Was the train really going to get funded by Kickstarter? Likely not. So are the citizens likely willing to pay the taxes? Probably not. There is a point where taxes go from just regular taxes, to basically punishing the citizens for living in that state or country. In my opinion, California has crossed that line.

At the beginning of this post, I said that I have mixed feelings. Of course, I still feel that way. I feel like once this train is actually finished, it will be awesome. But until then, the cons outweigh the benifits by far.

~Matt