High-Speed Rail - California

Dan Leavitt, California High-Speed Rail Authority’s deputy director, says Calif. can either be at the whim of 'market-driven sprawl,' or high-speed rail can revolutionize the state. Yet, arguments for getting people to ride rail are contentious.

Japanese and European train producers are having to compete with Chinese firms they alledge stole their blueprints during joint ventures years earlier.

When she read over the ridership estimates behind California's HSR plans, Elizabeth Alexis was expecting to have "obscure arguments over the standard deviations," but instead found glaringly obvious "math" mistakes.

Thomas Elias argues that California's HSR plans should be altered to reduce costs and avoid some urban municipalities against the plans. This would reduce the $25 billion funding gap and allow construction to move ahead.

A Sacramento judge has ruled that the environmental review for California's high-speed rail has failed to fully account for right-of-way delays involving Union Pacific trains.

Views are already beginning to clash as the California high-speed rail project begins its development process. But until environmental and design reports are available, many questions are to be left unanswered.