Transit In the News

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- About 50 college students from throughout California gathered with city and state officials on the steps of San Francisco City Hall Monday to build momentum and support for a statewide electric high-speed train system.

The proposed system would feature trains that run at speeds of up to 220 mph and travel from San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento to the Central Valley and down to Los Angeles and San Diego.

"We are here to give a boost and catapult to high-speed trains and make it a reality," state Sen. Carole Migden said. Quentin Kopp, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said there has been a steady progression toward implementing high-speed trains since 1996, when the authority was established.

"I'm happy California is ahead of every other U.S. state in high-speed rail," said Kopp. Benefits of the high-speed train include a decrease in gas emissions and shorter travel times, according to Kopp. He said that a trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco would take about two and a half hours and emphasized that, unlike airports; the high-speed train system would not require an elaborate security system. The estimated price for a one-way ticket between Los Angeles and San Francisco would be $55, Kopp said. Student members of California Public Interest Group were in attendance at today's event in San Francisco, which marked the students' first stop on a tour of the state to promote high-speed trains. "I'm spending my spring break on a road trip, but not to Cabo," said Jenn Engstrom, a second-year student at University of California at Berkeley. 

Gambit Ramos, an organizer staff member from University of California, Irvine, came with his red bicycle, bearing a sticker reading, "I'd rather be riding high-speed rail." "This is a truly grassroots effort that will bring California into the 21st Century," said city Supervisor Aaron Peskin. Kopp said that the first phase of the system, which will run between Anaheim and San Francisco, would cost approximately $30 billion. Voters will decide whether to approve a nearly $10 billion bond on Nov. 4 and federal funding and private investors would contribute the remaining funding, said Kopp. "I call upon you to keep that (the bond) front and center as a priority," Migden said. The second stop on the student tour was scheduled to be held at San Jose City Hall at 1 p.m. Monday. The High-Speed Rail Authority approved moving forward with a Pacheco Pass route for the bullet train in December. That would bring the rail route through the Silicon Valley.