California High Speed Rail Authority
Deputy executive director for Communication, Policy and Public Outreach at the California High-Speed Rail Authority
PROFILE
Jeff Barker
Guest
FROM Jeff Barker
Which Way, L.A.?
Is High Speed Rail Too Big a Gamble for California? Based on plans laid in 1996, California voters in 2008 approved almost $10 billion in bonds to begin building a bullet-train system to connect the state's major cities. The ballot argument promised hundreds of thousands of jobs, a billion in annual profit and no need for state taxpayer subsidies. The Obama Administration has come up with $3.5 billion in federal money and construction is set to begin next year on 100 miles of track between Fresno and Bakersfield. But numerous experts and agencies are saying it's time for another look before it's too late.
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