USHSR Compliments Governor Jerry Brown for Supporting High Speed Rail

Aug. 22, 2011
The California high speed rail project is the most ambitious new rail project in America that will cover over 800 miles once built out connecting Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego with a high speed bullet train rivaling those of Europe and Asia. The project will be built in phases starting construction in northern California, and expanding south over the next decade.

California Governor Jerry Brown just announced he will support the state's visionary high speed rail project, and was looking forward to working with the California High Speed Rail Authority to do everything he can to keep the train project moving forward. "I would like to be part of the group that gets America to think big again" Brown said as he announced his support for this project, more than a decade in the making.

The California high speed rail project is the most ambitious new rail project in America that will cover over 800 miles once built out connecting Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego with a high speed bullet train rivaling those of Europe and Asia. The project will be built in phases starting construction in northern California, and expanding south over the next decade.

"This is very exciting news," said US High Speed Rail Association president Andy Kunz. "We applaud Gov. Brown for his support for this visionary new rail system that will revolutionize how Californians move about the state. This is the most cost effective way to create new mobility in a state as large as California, and will be far cheaper than trying to double the state's highways or build new airports to meet the state's growing population and increased mobility needs. We applaud the governor for his commitment to high speed rail, and his desire to make the project as economically viable and valuable as possible. We look forward to working with Gov. Brown to build additional support in the state and across America, and in helping to bring private investors and public-private partnerships to this great project."

USHSR plans to convene industry leaders, elected officials and local stakeholders in the near future to showcase the opportunities the California high speed rail system will bring to the entire state.

The plan for the state's ambitious new rail project is for it to be funded by a combination of federal, state and private sources of capital. "There's a lot of private interest out there to be involved in this large project" added Kunz. "There's also tremendous public support for this project as evidenced by the public vote in 2008 in favor of the project." Recent polls show over 88 percent of Americans support high speed rail.

California High Speed Rail Authority chief Roelof van Ark said "California is leading the nation in high speed rail. I have seen how high speed rail projects transform the places where they're built creating incredible new opportunities by connecting the world's great cities." California stands to benefit in many ways from this project including delivering a fast new high-capacity form of transportation not subject to congestion and delays; de-congesting the state's freeways and airports making them function better; creating millions of new permanent jobs; saving energy; helping to meet the state's clean air mandates; and stimulating real estate development state-wide.