California Receives Grant for High-Speed Rail

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced that California is receiving more than $2.3 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) funding for high-speed intercity rail.

With the united support of government, labor, business and environmental leaders, California submitted a funding proposal for the first truly high-speed train in the nation. The state’s plans for high-speed rail are also further along than any other state.

When the full system is built, it will stretch close to 800 miles--from Sacramento to San Diego. The building of the train system is estimated to create up to 600,000 jobs throughout the state. California has received more ARRA funds than any other state.

“I fought for this investment because it means jobs, jobs, jobs for hardworking Californians,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “The U.S. Transportation Secretary told me personally that California had the best high-speed rail application in the nation – a plan that will create jobs and pump up our economy while laying the foundation for California’s 21st century transportation system. High-speed rail systems are the future of clean transportation in the state and California leaders joined together to secure the funding necessary to help make that future possible.”

Environmentalists have rallied behind the high-speed rail project as a cleaner mode of transportation, which is responsible for just one-third of the greenhouse gases of airplanes and one-fifth of that of automobiles. ARRA grants will fund $20 million in upgrades to the trains’ emissions control equipment, reducing pollution. Advocates also point out that steel wheels on steel tracks are more energy efficient than the friction created by rubber wheels on asphalt. In addition, California’s high-speed train system will run on 100 percent renewable energy and will take 12 billion pounds of greenhouse gas out of the environment annually.

In November 2008, with the passage of Proposition 1A, California voters approved a $9.95 billion bond-funded down payment for high-speed rail in California. With state and local money added to the ARRA money, the high speed rail will provide a nearly $10 Billion boost to California’s economy.

Image courtesy of Flickr