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By 2007,
the State of California will have completed concept planning
and
environmental clearance for a state-of-the-art 220 mph high-speed
rail network
linking Southern California, the Central Valley, and the Bay
Area. When complete,
the high-speed rail lines will attract 50-100 million travelers
yearly. |
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Investing
in mobility between our largest and fastest growing urban areas
is
essential to keep California attractive and internationally
competitive in the coming
decades, since intercity travel and congestion are forecast
to more than double in
the next 35 years. |
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High-speed
rail (HSR) in California's transportation mix is more cost-effective
and
environmentally sustainable than investing only in more highways
and air facilities.
HSR will cost only half as much to build than the same capacity
in roads and air
alone, and will require less land, affect fewer natural resources,
and will
encourage more compact urban development. |
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HSR will
significantly reduce travel-related accidents, injuries, and
deaths, will
draw directly from electric power independent of fossil fuels,
and will use zero
emissions vehicles. |
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The HSR investment
will create spin-off benefits for other transportation
system
users, by increasing capacity and safety on the freight
railroad lines, allowing
consolidation of parallel rail lines, improving speeds
and reliability of commuter
rail services, freeing airport capacity for long-distance
and international flights |
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High-speed rail
can be done in steps over 20 years. Early investments
can
provide faster trip times for existing intercity and commuter
services, safety
improvements, and other transportation benefits within
several years. |
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HSR trains
can share tracks with existing services, and branch off on high-speed
segments as they are completed. The first 220 mph operations
can be started
within five years of funding. |
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The Association
is working to secure funding from State, Federal, local, and
private
sources to make California high-speed rail a reality. |
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Trains
will operate at speeds up to 220 mph similar to those in service
today in
Europe and Asia, based on 42 years of steadily improved technologies.
Power will
be electric, drawn from overhead wires, purchased from the commercial
power
grids. Trains will comply with all U.S. safety standards, including
those to be
negotiated with the Federal Railroad Administration for high-speed
operations
and construction. |
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The twin
tracks will be primarily on new alignment, often in or alongside
existing
transportation corridors, but completely separated from crossing
roads in order to
provide extremely reliable and safe travel. In Los Angeles and
Orange Counties,
as well as on the San Francisco Peninsula, portions of the existing
rail lines used
by Amtrak and commuter agencies will see added tracks for capacity
and
complete grade separation for safety, speed, and timeliness
improvements for all
users. The lines will be fenced and monitored to control and
detect trespassing
and intrusion. |
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Over 150
trains daily will be operated in a mix of services including
express trains
linking stations in the Bay Area and the LA Basin in 2 to 2½
hours, San Diego to LA
in 75 minutes, and Sacramento-Fresno-Los Angeles in under an
hour and a half;
semi-express trains stopping at most or all of the intermediate
stations; and
regional commuter trains, coordinated with existing services
to provide for intra
-regional commuting and travel. |
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The current
forecast ridership on the entire line is 68 million passengers
yearly,
made 10 years ago. The State is currently updating this forecast
to reflect current
energy price and congestion expectations with results expected
towards the end of
2006. |
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The full
network will be built in phases, which have not yet been finalized.
However,
there are at nearly a dozen logical segments which could be
implemented with
early benefits for HSR and existing users including: |
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Palmdale - Los Angeles (separate
structure along rail corridor)
Los Angeles - Irvine existing line (up to four tracks
and grade separations)
Los Angeles - Riverside (separate structure along rail
corridor
Fresno area rail corridor consolidation
Various Sacramento - Bakersfield segments to speed up
existing service
Inland Empire to San Diego (separate structure new and
parallel alignments)
Caltrain corridor (up to four tracks and grade separations)
Central Valley - Bay Area (new alignment to be determined
by 2007) |
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The cost of the full
800 miles is estimated at around $35 billion over a twenty-year
period. The cost of individual usable segments and improvements
will range from
$1 to $4 billion. No operations subsidy is expected once the
major urban areas
and traffic generators are linked. |
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