High Speed Rail and the Government of California

High Speed Rail
Students’ Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Letter
Just over six months ago, I was appointed by the government of California to head a special committee that studied the benefits of having a high-speed rail in the state. Throughout the past six months, as a committee we have engaged with a dedicated team of professionals not only in the county from other countries that have the high-speed rail system on the concept, financing, delivery steps and benefits of HSR. Over the course, we have engaged with these professionals to obtain their advice on whether we should go on with the project or not and how it should be implemented. In preparing this report, I have considered the experiences abroad countries such as Japan, UK, China and France have had with high-speed rail. The benefits are sounding, which have led me to conclude that its benefits outweigh the overall costs. I have also concluded that there are opportunities to engage foreign investors in financing and delivering this project. Therefore, I conclude that the project should be continued but with few changes in the implementation strategy; further the CHSRA should engage the locals during the decision making-process especially in land acquisition.
I wish to thank the state government and CHSRA for the cooperation throughout the exercise and wish CHSRA well in its commitment to deliver a high-speed rail in California.
Yours
Name
Table of Contents
Executive Summary3
High Speed Rail4
California High Speed Rail Authority5
Purpose5
Implementation Plan6
Funding6
Other Countries with High Speed Rail7
Benefits of High Speed Rail in Abroad Countries8
Benefits to California9
Benefits to Fresno11
Conclusion12
Recommendation 13
References14
Appendix15
Executive Summary
The high-speed rail construction in California was approved in 2008 by the former president Barrack Obama. The responsibility of planning, designing, building and operating the high-speed rail was designated to California High Speed Rail Authority which was established by the California State legislature. However, all along there have been various criticisms over the construction of the HSR something that has held the authority from delivering its promise of having the first HSR completed by 2018. Some challenges have been from funding sources, its benefits, and the implementation strategy. This report reviews the sources of funds, implementation strategy, countries that have the HSR as well as the benefits that they have experienced from it. The report also establishes some of the benefits that California will experience from constructing the HSR.
High Speed Rail
Multiple definitions for high speed rail exist around the world. The first definition is that of the European Union Directive, which defines it in terms of infrastructure, minimum speed limit and operating conditions. In terms of infrastructure, the tracks are specifically built for high speed travels. The considered minimum speed is 250km/h (155 mph) for lines built specifically for high-speed, 200 km/h (124 mph) for the upgraded lines. For the rail to be considered high-speed under the European Union Directive, its rolling stock must reach a speed of more than 200 km/h (124 mph). In terms of operating conditions, the rolling stock and infrastructure must be designed in a compatible, safe and quality manner. Another widely used definition is that of International Union of Railways (UIC) which identifies it in three categories. Category I is for the new constructed tracks allowing for high speeds of at leats 250 km/h (155 mph). Category II is for upgraded tracks allowing high speeds of at least 200 km/h (124 mph). Category III is for the upgraded tracks allowing maximum speeds of at least 200 km/h (124 mph) but some of its sections allows lower speeds due to some factors such as topography and passing through urban areas. The third definition is that of Demiridis and Pyrgidis (2012) which requires the fulfillment of the following conditions:
* Maximum achievable speeds of 250 km/h (155 mph) for newly constructed tracks or 200 km/h (124 mph) for existing upgraded tracks.
* Average running speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) for the upgraded high-speed tracks or 200 km/h (124 mph) for the newly constructed high-speed tracks across the corridors.
From the three definitions, one can conclude that high-speed rail is a type of rail that is faster than the traditional rail and uses an integrates system of rolling stocks and tracks. The above definitions imply that there is no standard definition across the world since some are including lower speeds where they represent significant improvement. High-speed rail was first introduced in Japan in the year 9164 under the name bullet train. They operate on standard gauge tracks.
California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA)
This is a California state agency that was established in pursuant to California High-Speed Rail Act to oversee the development and implementation of the high-speed intercity rail project. Its roots dates back to 1975 when Governor Jerry Brown signed a legislation into law that commissioned the study of high-speed rail systems. During his run for presidency campaign in 1992, he showed a continuous support for it. In 1993 the Intercity High-Speed Rail Commission was created to carry the studies and develop plans for the construction of the rail systems. In 1996, CHSRA was established to commence the planning of the development of the rail system in preparation for 1998 or 2000 ballot measure that was to be put before the voters in 2004 general elections. The state legislature voted to push it forward, first in 2006 and second in 2008 where 52.7% of the voters approved its funding.
Purpose
The purpose of California High-Speed Rail Authority is to plan, design, build and operate the high-speed rail system in the country. The California high-speed rail is expected to connect all the state regions and contribute to the its economic development as well as clean environment. Additionally, it is expected to create more job opportunities and preserve some of the agriculturally protected lands.
Implementation Plan
The CHSRA implementation plan is to construct the high-speed rail system in phases starting from the Central Valley and progress to other major cities in the north and south. The major determining factor for phasing the project and starting the construction in Central Valley was the mountainous landscape between the north and south. The present revised document retains the initial idea of beginning the construction in Central Valley, but introduces some investments aimed at producing a range of benefits throughout the state. The latest document includes a series of improvements to commuter routes that will connect to the Central Valley system to provide better services across the state in the future and provide opportunities for continued upgrades. This approach of taking advantage of the existing systems and tie them with high-speed rail features has been termed as “blended service” by the authority.
The current document has grouped the objectives and investments of the authority into an implementation strategy of five steps. The first step consists of the construction of anew high-speed track in Central Valley, upgrade of Amtrak and commuter rail systems, and work towards closing the gap between LA and Palmdale through Tahachapi Mountains. The second step consists of starting a 220 mph trains and extend the construction of high-speed tracks to the south’s Burbank/Silvia and north’s Modesto. The third step consist of building a new high-speed direct track between Central Valley and Silicone Valley. Other steps will consist of completing the construction of high-speed rail system.
Funding
According to the current document, the funding capital for California High-Speed Rail Authority will come from various sources such as federal, state, local and private. The authority will be able to access the funds at different times depending on the development timeline. The document demonstrates that the development of the first segment of the Initial Operating Section (IOS) is estimated to cost $6 billion, which consists $3.3 billion federal funds and $2.6 billion Proportion 1A bond proceeds. Federal, state and local funds will be used to complete the remaining portions of Initial Operating Section. Moreover, Cap and Trade funds will also be appropriated if need in support of the federal and local funds in order to complete the IOS.
The completion of the Bay to Basin network is expected to receive mixed funding from federal, local, private and other funds. This method is also expected to fund the completion of the first step of “blended system.” After the construction of the IOS is underway and blended improvements begun in the north and south, CHSRA will begin the construction of the remaining IOS as an attempt to close the gap between LA and Bakersfield. In general, according to the current document, government sources will be used to fund the IOS while private funds will be used to fund future constructions once the system realizes positive cash flows.
Other Countries with High-Speed Rail
The worldwide high-speed rail system is a reflection of modern engineering and has proved to be the best transportation mode in existence. The worldwide high-speed rail system is expanding exponentially across the continents to deliver fast and efficient mobility to various countries. Currently, high-speed rail is operational in more than 20 countries across the world including Belgium, France, China, Italy, UK, Japan, Germany and Korea. Additionally, it is under construction in more than 10 countries such Saudi Arabia, Italy, and China; and under developme...