![]() ![]() In responses solicited by the rail project, private companies earlier this year indicated strong interest in construction, supplying infrastructure such as train cars and operating the line. The board chairman, Richard, said this month that the upcoming business plan could lower the project’s overall cost, as the authority has inked contracts at lower-than-expected rates. They’re certainly not going to be having anything usable for trains.” “At that point they’re not even going to be starting laying tracks. They’re going to run out of money sometime by 2017,” said Stuart Flashman, an attorney who represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the state. “What people are now talking about is we’re going to end up with a 130-mile mound of dirt. Each of those funding sources carries political and legal risks, the state’s independent legislative analyst has noted. On the money side, California has the voter-approved bonds, $2.5 billion in federal stimulus funds that must be spent by September 2017 and a quarter of fluctuating revenues from the state’s cap-and-trade program, which could eventually hit $500 million a year. But at a recent legislative hearing, rail officials indicated that they may reverse course when the rail authority releases its new business plan later in February. Jerry Brown’s administration agreed to extend the rail system south to Burbank before it heads north. Money remains the biggest challenge, but there are political hurdles, too.Īs part of a deal with the Legislature to secure funding from California’s fee on polluters, Gov. He said officials have tried to work with community leaders to solve problems when they arise. “You can’t build a 520-mile system like this and not have some impacts somewhere,” said Dan Richard, chairman of the politically appointed board that oversees the rail project. Though officials have been working for years to acquire the thousands of parcels of land required for the project, they currently have just 63 percent of the parcels needed for the first 29 miles in the Central Valley.Īnd as planning continues, opposition has mounted in Southern California, where bullet train officials are weighing four potential routes. ![]() In recent months, rail officials have touted construction of a viaduct in Madera County, the first visible sign of construction. ![]()
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