Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump Fires IRS Commissioner, Bessent Named Acting Head

1 day ago

University of California Reviews US Government’s $1 Billion UCLA Settlement Offer

1 day ago

Kounalakis Exits California Governor’s Race, Will Run for State Treasurer

1 day ago

National Weather Service to Restore Hundreds of Jobs Cut Under Trump

1 day ago

Wall Street Gains as Trump’s Interim Fed Choice Stokes Dovish Bets

1 day ago

US, Russia Plan Truce Deal That Would Cement Putin’s Gains in Ukraine, Bloomberg Reports

1 day ago

Visalia Roadwork to Close Giddings Street Through December

1 day ago

Trump Asks US Supreme Court to Lift Limits on Immigration Raids

2 days ago
Bringing High-Speed Rail to California, One Building Block at a Time
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 6 years ago on
June 28, 2019

Share

California has long been the leader in innovation, bold action and tackling projects that others wouldn’t dream of. The state highway system, BART, and the Golden Gate Bridge stand out as prime examples of challenging projects that were seen through, and today benefit millions. The vision for high-speed rail is no different.


Lenny Mendonca
Special to CALmatters

Opinion
While I have been following the high-speed rail project at a high level for years, it is only recently, when I became chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s board of directors, that I became acutely aware of the benefits this project presents for the state of California.
High-speed rail at its core holds fundamental, economic and environmental promise for the hardworking men and women who call California home.
The Central Valley, where 119 miles are under active construction, is an area rich with roots and history. Growing up in Turlock, I can attest to the importance, economic benefit and attention high-speed rail is bringing to the Valley. I hear it each time I visit the region.
To hear some say this project is something that is not important to California is insulting. Ensuring we are all connected is essential to the California Dream. It always has been, and it always will be.

Building Block Approach Starting in Central Valley Makes Sense

The authority has been in construction in the Central Valley since 2015, putting more than 2,600 men and women to work building the first 119 miles of high-speed rail. Bridges, viaducts, grade separations, and other civic works that will make up part of the Phase 1 system all are underway.
When voters in 2008 approved Proposition 1A, the bond measure that provided $9.95 billion to commence construction of a high-speed rail service connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim, they chose a transformative mobility option for themselves and for future generations.
In a state the size of California, high-speed rail service will make huge impacts. Travel times between the Bay Area and the Los Angeles Basin will be reduced from 12 hours by conventional rail, or seven to eight hours by car, to less than three hours by high-speed rail.
The service promises to link California’s major economic and population centers by connecting the cities of the Central Valley with the coastal regions of Northern and Southern California and beyond.
As the state rail plan laid out, high-speed rail will serve as the backbone for a larger, more integrated passenger rail network. These mobility options will allow Californians to move as they never have before.
The building block approach starting in the Central Valley makes sense.
This economic investment and connectivity is vital for the millions of Californians who call the Central Valley home. It’s the vision voters approved in 2008, and the mission to complete that vision remains unchanged.

High-Speed Rail Authority Must Live Within Its Means

While our federal partners have disengaged, this is not indicative of the past working relationship we’ve had with them. We remain committed to fighting what we believe to be an unwarranted attack on the state, and remain hopeful that at some point they will re-engage in what has historically been a positive partnership in large scale transportation projects.
While the federal disengagement is not ideal, the authority is moving forward. The recently released 2019 Project Update Report lays out the path to expand economic benefits while demonstrating the environmental and mobility benefits that high-speed rail can deliver, even in a constrained funding environment.
The analysis done by the authority’s Early Train Operator shows the best option for early interim service in the Central Valley is to develop a line between Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield, and provide faster travel and greater connectivity in and beyond that 171-mile stretch, with better connections for travelers to the Bay Area, Sacramento and the Los Angeles Basin.
The authority must live within its means. That means completing a segment it can fund with available revenue, and getting trains on the ground to show Californians what high-speed rail service in California can do.
The High-Speed Rail Authority will expand the entire system as envisioned, connecting a revitalized Central Valley to the Bay Area and Southern California as more funding becomes available.

Let’s Get on With It

This is the building block approach described in the 2018 Business Plan adopted by the authority one year ago.
To that end, the authority is investing nearly $1.4 billion in the corridor between San Francisco, San Jose and Merced. That includes completing environmental reviews and contributing $713 million to the Caltrain Electrification Project, with regional partners in high priority environmental reviews and early mobility projects to pave the way for future high-speed rail connections.
Concurrently, investments are being made in Southern California as well.
Over $1.2 billion in the L.A. Basin in concert with our regional partners is dedicated to complete environmental reviews from Bakersfield to Anaheim and high-priority bookend projects, including $441 million for Los Angeles Union Station improvements.
The authority continues to pursue the best option to begin early service in the only part of the state where we are under construction on truly high-speed rail assets — the Central Valley. This is the right thing to do because, candidly, it is time to get high-speed, electric trains operating in California.
Let’s get on with it.
About the Author
Lenny Mendonca is chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority board of directors, chief economic and business advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom, and director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). He can be reached at lenny.mendonca@gobiz.ca.gov. He wrote this commentary for CALmatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.
Please see his past commentaries for CAlmatters here and here.
[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How a CIA Hit on Al Qaeda Ensnared a US Citizen in Afghanistan

DON'T MISS

California Escalates Texas Redistricting Fight With November Ballot Measure

DON'T MISS

White House to Hold Press Conference on Crime in DC on Monday, Trump Says

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Recommends Vaccination as Whooping Cough Cases Rise

DON'T MISS

How Long Before the Navy Moves Crashed Jet Out of Buddy Mendes’ Cotton Field?

DON'T MISS

Sierra Unified Unveils Renovated Library in First Phase of Campus Modernization

DON'T MISS

Madera County’s Former Sheriff-Turned-Top Exec Jay Varney Ready to Retire

DON'T MISS

California Antisemitism Bill Sparks Clash Between Jewish Groups and Educators

DON'T MISS

Rivian Opens EV Dealership, Service Center in Fresno. First for Central Valley

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires IRS Commissioner, Bessent Named Acting Head

UP NEXT

California Escalates Texas Redistricting Fight With November Ballot Measure

UP NEXT

White House to Hold Press Conference on Crime in DC on Monday, Trump Says

UP NEXT

Tulare County Recommends Vaccination as Whooping Cough Cases Rise

UP NEXT

How Long Before the Navy Moves Crashed Jet Out of Buddy Mendes’ Cotton Field?

UP NEXT

Madera County’s Former Sheriff-Turned-Top Exec Jay Varney Ready to Retire

UP NEXT

Rivian Opens EV Dealership, Service Center in Fresno. First for Central Valley

UP NEXT

Kounalakis Exits California Governor’s Race, Will Run for State Treasurer

UP NEXT

Fresno Homicide Victim’s Mother Makes Powerful Statement in Court

UP NEXT

Legal Hold Means CA Gunowners Still Need Background Checks for Ammo

UP NEXT

Where the Redistricting Wars Might Go After Texas

Tulare County Recommends Vaccination as Whooping Cough Cases Rise

7 hours ago

How Long Before the Navy Moves Crashed Jet Out of Buddy Mendes’ Cotton Field?

8 hours ago

Sierra Unified Unveils Renovated Library in First Phase of Campus Modernization

8 hours ago

Madera County’s Former Sheriff-Turned-Top Exec Jay Varney Ready to Retire

1 day ago

California Antisemitism Bill Sparks Clash Between Jewish Groups and Educators

1 day ago

Rivian Opens EV Dealership, Service Center in Fresno. First for Central Valley

1 day ago

Trump Fires IRS Commissioner, Bessent Named Acting Head

1 day ago

University of California Reviews US Government’s $1 Billion UCLA Settlement Offer

1 day ago

Trump Officials Will Not Face Contempt Over Venezuela Deportations, Appeals Court Rules

1 day ago

Kounalakis Exits California Governor’s Race, Will Run for State Treasurer

1 day ago

How a CIA Hit on Al Qaeda Ensnared a US Citizen in Afghanistan

As a crowd looked on, uniformed Taliban surrounded the Toyota Landcruiser in which Mahmood Habibi, a naturalized U.S. citizen, sat. Other Ta...

5 hours ago

Ahmad Habibi and his younger brother Mahmood Habibi pose for the camera, Canada, 2014. Mahmood Habibi was taken hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan on August 10, 2022, the U.S. government says. Ahmad Shah Habibi/Handout via REUTERS
5 hours ago

How a CIA Hit on Al Qaeda Ensnared a US Citizen in Afghanistan

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference, accompanied by members of the Texas Democratic legislators, at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento, California, U.S., August 8, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
5 hours ago

California Escalates Texas Redistricting Fight With November Ballot Measure

President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters at the White House in Washington, July 30, 2025. The conversation between President Trump and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo came at a time when Cuomo was publicly pushing Mayor Eric Adams and other rivals to drop out of the race in hopes of consolidating the support of voters who oppose the frontrunner, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
5 hours ago

White House to Hold Press Conference on Crime in DC on Monday, Trump Says

Tulare County experiencing an increase of whooping cough cases
7 hours ago

Tulare County Recommends Vaccination as Whooping Cough Cases Rise

8 hours ago

How Long Before the Navy Moves Crashed Jet Out of Buddy Mendes’ Cotton Field?

Sierra Unified Library Renovations
8 hours ago

Sierra Unified Unveils Renovated Library in First Phase of Campus Modernization

Jim Varney retiring from madera County
1 day ago

Madera County’s Former Sheriff-Turned-Top Exec Jay Varney Ready to Retire

1 day ago

California Antisemitism Bill Sparks Clash Between Jewish Groups and Educators

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend