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It is impossible to talk aboutCalifornias transportation sys-tems and our future transporta-

tion needs without including high-speed rail. There are about 38 millionCalifornians today; that number isexpected to grow by a full third, to 50million, by the year 2035. Stateleaders have the responsibility ofaccommodating that growth whilealso maintaining economic strengthand high-speed rail is one of the bestmeans to accomplish both.

California will need more roadcapacity, more airport capacity andhigh-speed rail is another transporta-tion option. The continued health ofCalifornias economy relies on beingable to move people and goodsefficiently within the state from

international origins, through theports, from Northern California toSouthern California.

The benefits of the planned systemto connect the largest populationcenters in our state, which includestwo of the largest population centersin our nation will be seen in boththe short term and the long term. Inthe near term, it means economicstimulus and job creation. In thelong term, it means economicefficiency and environmental im-provements. In a time of staggeringunemployment figures especially inthe Central Valley its even clearerthat infrastructure investment is asmart, forward-thinking way tocreate jobs.

But what is it exactly that Califor-nia is planning? Californias high-speed rail project is not one ofincrementally improving existingpassenger rail lines, but one ofconstructing new infrastructure toallow operating speeds of 220 milesper hour and travel times from theLos Angeles Basin to Silicon Valleyand the Bay Area that competes withair travel.

Californias high-speed rail systemwill span more than 500 miles in thatfirst phase, and ultimately cover 800

miles when it stretches from Sacra-mento to San Diego.

Californias high-speed rail systemis a job creator. With this project,

when estimating job creation, aconservative figure is used, com-pared to that of transportationadvocacy groups and other infrastruc-ture projects, of 20,000 jobs per $1billion in investment.

In a short amount of time, lessthan a year and half, California wasawarded the most funding in thenation for its high-speed rail project.More than $6 billion is available tostart construction, and that will

mean more than 100,000 jobs duringinitial construction. That means jobsfor construction laborers, equipmentoperators, construction managers,cement masons and concrete finish-ers, electricians, accountants/audi-tors, civil engineers and more. Thebulk of those jobs will be local andbased out of the Central Valley.

Californias high-speed rail systemis slated to begin construction in theCentral Valley next year. There are

many reasons the High Speed RailAuthority and the federal govern-ment chose to begin construction ofthe Los Angeles area to Bay Areasystem in the Central Valley.

The Central Valley constitutes thebackbone of the statewide system,

where we will have true high-speedtrain travel on dedicated tracks. Thenew tracks will accommodate thetesting of the nations first high-speed trains, equipment and technol-ogy.

Also, beginning in the center givesthe flexibility to build either north orsouth as more money becomesavailable. Why begin where our

system will be straight, flat andrelatively inexpensive? To get themost bang for our buck and get moreCalifornians directly to work.

Californias high-speed rail systemwill run 100% on electricity, whichmeans that electricity can be pro-duced from clean sources like wind,solar and more, protecting the airquality in a place that has some ofthe poorest air quality in the nation.

Californias high-speed rail systemwill turn a profit. According to theInternational Union of Railways,

which is the international authorityon rail, every existing high-speed

train system in operation around theworld generates a profit from itsoperations.

Two lines the Tokyo-to-Osakaand Paris-to-Lyon lines have evenmade enough profit to pay back thecost of their initial infrastructureinvestment. The authority is working

with nine countries around the worldto tap their expertise and exchangebest practices to ensure Californiassystem will be the best in the world.

Californias high-speed rail systemwill be funded by a mix of sources.With their approval of a $9.95 billionbond measure in 2008, Californiansdid their part. The federal govern-

ment has already pumped moremoney into Californias project thanthat of any other state in the nation,though the authority continues to

work to secure a long-term federalcommitment. And we have a greatdeal of interest from the privatesector to invest and operate thesystem, more than 1,500 representa-tives of which attended a high-speedrail industry forum we hosted in Los

Angeles earlier this year.

Soon, you will see the environmen-tal impact reports for the Central

Valley portion of the project, as wellas an updated business plan fromthe Authority, both of which will give

you a clearer picture of what it isexactly that were proposing.

In the end, it is this: a safe, clean,fast and affordable way to travel thatimproves Californias economy andquality of life and brings us onto thesame playing field the rest of the

world has enjoyed for decades.

HSR: the futureof transportation

Clean-running high-speed trains will use technology that can connect

Californias growing population and give its people needed jobs.by the California High Speed Rail Authority

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80

101

50

99395

Map shows routesunder consideration.

Only one will be selected.

Sacramento

Stockton

Stations Under Consideration

Millbrae-SFO

Mid-Peninsula

Modesto

Fresno

Bakersfield

Kings/Tulare Regional

San Fernando/Branford/Burbank

Merced

San FranciscoTransbay Terminal

San JoseDiridon

Gilroy

HST Alignment Alternatives- Phase 1

Los Angeles

San Diego

San Gabriel Valley

Ontario Airport

SanBernardino

MarchAFB

Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs or Fullerton

Anaheim

Murrieta

Escondido

Corona

Palmdale

HST Alignment Alternatives- Phase 2

Sectionselectedto receive

federalfunding

Does HSR helpmid-sized cities?

History shows thatinvestment in infrastruc-ture results in economicgrowth in the future.

CNN.com userthenewsjunki

Expert response: Thatstrue

One of the biggest andoften overlooked advantag-es of high speed rail, andeven of not-so-high-speedrail, is its ability to restorethe economic promise ofmany mid-sized cities

where airline service is nolonger available orprohibitively expensive.Fast, frequent railpassenger and packageexpress service onceprovided cities like

Lynchburg, Va., orRockford, Ill., with theconnectivity to othermarkets they needed tothrive as centers of

business. Now, as part offlyover America, theystruggle because gettingfrom there to anywhereelse requires long autodrives to distant and/orpoorly served airports.

Philip Longman,senior research fellow,

New America Foundation

4 SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2011 A CUSTOM PUBLICATION OF THE FRESNO BEE