Abandoning High-speed Rail More Costly Than the Project Itself

By Robert Cruickshank, president of Californians for High Speed Rail from 2009 to 2011

Sixty years ago, construction workers in the San Joaquin Valley began two major infrastructure projects that did much to build modern California: the State Water Project and Interstate 5. Backed by strong support in Sacramento, including adequate funding, the freeway connected drivers to Los Angeles in 1972, and the aqueduct began delivering water to Southern California in 1973.

Today another major infrastructure project rises in the San Joaquin Valley. The high-speed rail project is as essential to 21st-century California as the aqueducts and interstates were to the 20th century, enabling fast travel powered by clean energy to some of the state’s most populated places. Countries around the world have built or expanded their high-speed rail systems in recent years, carrying large numbers of passengers and reducing the need for carbon-intensive travel by airplanes or cars.

Unfortunately, California’s high-speed rail project has struggled. Unlike the aqueduct or the interstate, high-speed rail has never enjoyed more than tepid support in the state Capitol, even as it maintains majority support among California voters. The lack of legislative support means the project has never been fully funded. It has been trapped in a morass of land use regulations and lawsuits from project opponents that delayed construction and helped drive up costs.

Delays and rising costs have given an opening for critics to try and defund it, even if it means leaving unfinished infrastructure in the San Joaquin Valley. Some critics claim that the problem was a route serving cities like Fresno

Columnists/Reporters Melina Paris Assistant Editor/Arts Hunter Chase Community News Reporter and Palmdale rather than a more direct path between San Francisco and LA.

Even if one overlooked the millions of potential riders in those cities, any alternative route chosen would still lack sufficient funding and would still have been subject to environmental lawsuits.

Still, it would be a mistake to abandon this crucial project now, leaving concrete guideways in the sky empty of tracks, trains and travelers. No other form of transportation works as efficiently at connecting people across the distances of the Golden State as high-speed rail. Airplanes may make the trip from gate to gate in an hour. But when you add in travel times to and from the airport, a trip from downtown LA to downtown SF takes roughly the same amount of time on a bullet train as on a plane – yet the plane spews far more carbon

Driving is simply not competitive. Without traffic, it takes 5 to 6 hours to drive from LA to SF. With traffic, it can take a lot longer. I remember a New Year’s Day drive from LA to Berkeley that took 10 hours in the early 2000s. Even if Californians switch en masse to electric vehicles, it will still take most of the day to drive from the Bay Area to Southern California. And that’s without the comforts of a train — the ability to stand up, walk around, get food, use the bathroom and work remotely.

Global experience has proven that if you build it, they will ride. High-speed rail systems connecting cities of 500 miles distance or less

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Mayor Bass’ Statement on the Retirement Announcement of Sen. Diane Feinstein

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is a mentor, trailblazer and legislative icon for so many public servants. When I served as Speaker of the California State Assembly, Senator Feinstein requested that we confront California’s water crisis, and we did — implementing the first overhaul in our state’s water policy in decades and taking action that led to a state water bond to help combat the effects of climate change. In Congress, I fought alongside Senator Feinstein to always protect women’s rights. The indelible impact Senator Feinstein has had on our state and our entire country is a legacy that will last forever. Thank you, Senator, for your leadership, for your guidance and for your grace.”

Mayor Karen Bass Los Angeles

President Lula Visits Washington, D.C.

Yesterday I had the honor of meeting one of the world’s greatest champions for working people, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula.

During our meeting Lula and

I discussed the importance of defending democracy, advancing worker’s rights and increasing environmental and climate cooperation around the world.

Lula came to Washington to meet with President Biden, but what he did during the rest of his visit speaks loudly to who he is and has always represented. He spent time, not only with me, but also with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and with labor leaders at the AFL-CIO.

When world leaders visit our nation’s capital, almost all of them focus their attention on establishment figures: wealthy and powerful individuals, corporate CEOs or mainstream politicians. Lula did it differently. He met with progressive and labor leaders, because that is where he comes from and who he has represented throughout his entire life.

Lula, who left school after the second grade, was a metal worker who became president of Brazil’s steelworker’s union. At the time a CIA-backed military dictatorship ruled Brazil. Those who opposed them were jailed and often tortured. Lula risked his life leading strikes and protests against the undemocratic regime. In 1980 he founded the Workers Party. Remarkably he was elected president of Brazil in 2002. Because of the policies he

High-Speed Rail

typically grab a majority of the market share on that route away from airlines. That includes Amtrak’s Acela train connecting Washington, D.C. and New York City.

The evidence is clear that California should finish the job and complete the high-speed rail service between SF and LA. Yes, the cost has increased but the project remains more affordable than expanding airports or freeways. Its carbon emissions reductions will be essential to achieving the state’s climate goals.

put in place as president, 20 million Brazilians were able to rise out of poverty, while inequality, infant mortality, and illiteracy all declined. Lula demonstrated to the world the power and popularity of a government that stands for working people. When he left office in 2010 his approval rating was over 80%.

Lula was elected to a third term in October, defeating incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro, who was called the “Trump of the tropics.”

In July, several months before their election, a group of civil society leaders from Brazil visited my office and spoke with me about the threat to Brazilian democracy coming from Bolsonaro and his supporters. Just like Donald Trump, Bolsonaro was telling lies about the election being stolen months before anyone cast a ballot. They asked me to speak out, not in support of Lula, but in support of democracy.

That is why, along with Senator Tim Kaine, I introduced a Resolution in Support of Brazilian Democracy. This bill unanimously passed the Senate sending a clear message that the United States would stand with the people of Brazil and would not accept any attempts to undemocratically overturn the results of their election.

This threat turned out to be very real. On Jan. 8, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the buildings housing all three branches of government in Brazil calling for a military coup to bring Bolsonaro back to power. Since that day many questions have surfaced about the role of members of Bolsonaro’s government and of the military in these riots.

Neither the State Water Project nor the interstates were cheap. But they proved their value many times over during the last five decades. California’s high-speed rail project will prove its value many times over during the rest of this century — if political leaders in Sacramento commit to its completion.

The high-speed rail project is one of the largest and most ambitious undertakings in California history. Critics argue that the rising costs outweigh the project’s benefits, and the funds could be better spent on critical issues, such as the state’s water crisis.

Lula and I spoke in our meet- ing about the need to work to stand up for democracy around the world. This means not only standing against those who would try to overturn the results of elections, but also against the oligarchs who only care about their ability to exploit working people for profit.

Progressives around the world need to work together and that is exactly what Lula and I will continue to do. Now more than ever we need international solidarity.