Good and bad news on bullet train(s) front
by CalWatchdog Staff | March 24, 2013 7:45 am
March 24, 2013
By Chris Reed
As I wrote last week[1], the budget that Senate Democrats have embraced contains so little discretionary funding for California’s bullet-train project that it is impossible to see how the $68 billion project ever gets done.
But here’s an interesting twist. The primary author of the budget — Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash. — is so down on the Obama administration’s bullet train initiative that she tried to kill it in 2011. This is from a Sept. 21, 2011, AP story[2]:
“WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-led Senate Appropriations Committee has voted to provide $100 million to build high-speed rail lines, a small portion of what President Barack Obama has proposed for one of his economic priorities.
“The panel voted by voice Wednesday to include the money in a $110 billion transportation and housing bill for next year.
“Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the bill’s author, included nothing for high-speed rail in the original measure, citing budget constraints.
“But senators backed an amendment by No. 2 Senate Democratic leader Richard Durbin of Illinois adding the money. He said it would be paid for with unspent money from past home district projects called earmarks.’
The Vegas-to-Victorville bullet train. Yes, I said Victorville.
That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news: There’s another costly bullet-train program still alive that we don’t hear much about — and its advocates are still somewhat cocky that billions of dollars in now-available federal funds[3] will be wasted on it. It is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s farcical plan to link Las Vegas with, yes, Victorville[4] with a high-speed rail project dependent on federal dollars.
For those who don’t know their Socal geography, Victorville is 85 miles from Los Angeles — 85 congested miles[5] on Interstates 15 and 10. This is only slightly less crazy than the California bullet train’s first segment being built in farm country in the Central Valley.
- last week: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/16/bullet-train-no-money-jerry-brown-senate-budget/
- Sept. 21, 2011, AP story: http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/sep/21/senate-panel-oks-limited-funds-for-high-speed-rail/
- billions of dollars in now-available federal funds: http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/sep/21/senate-panel-oks-limited-funds-for-high-speed-rail/
- Victorville: https://www.google.com/search?q=las+vegas+to+victorville+high+speed+rail&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
- 85 congested miles: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=4Rc&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.44158598,d.aWc&biw=1024&bih=586&um=1&ie=UTF-8&gl=us&daddr=Los+Angeles,+CA&saddr=Victorville,+CA&panel=1&f=d&fb=1&dirflg=d&geocode=KXnS3WNaZMOAMXY09CVZEZUN;KRPaJ9xdx8KAMfQIRiVv3y_i
Source URL: https://calwatchdog.com/2013/03/24/good-and-bad-news-on-bullet-trains-front/