Part I – Introduction – Scaled-back High-Speed Rail Project Raises New Issues

Since its start in 1996, the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s path forward has often been almost as twisted and winding as the routing the Authority chose to get from San Francisco to L.A. That route includes a 60 mile detour over the Tehachapi Mountains through Palmdale. California’s high-speed rail started with a potentially good idea – running a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles. To see what went wrong, take a look at this recent article. One major take-home lesson is provided in a single quote from Norman Anderson, chairman and CEO of CG/LA Infrastructure, “If you actually allow the politicians rather than the technical people to be in charge of a project, then you’re in big trouble.”

From its beginning, California’s High-Speed Rail Authority has been run and controlled by politicians. Major decisions were made to satisfy powerful political bosses in Sacramento, San Jose, and Washington DC, rather than being based on technical and financial analysis. That has led to numerous problems.

The following three posts address three different aspects of the problems facing the Authority’s projects. Part II addresses financial problems. Part III addresses environmental problems – notably whether the project can perform as the Authority has claimed in reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Part IV addresses legal challenges – notably whether the Authority and Legislature have violated the California Constitution to approve the project currently under construction.