2/4/2014 Taking California's bullet train to a greener future - latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-kelly-california-high-speed-rail-20140129,0,2395887.story#axzz2rzeJdO00 1/5

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OP-ED

By 2040, high-speed rail could reduce car miles traveled in the state by 3.6 billion miles ayear, the equivalent of taking 317,000 cars off the road each day.

By Brian P. Kelly and Mary D. Nichols

January 29, 2014

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Taking California's bullet train to a greener future

172

California's high-speed rail is one of the largest public works

projects anywhere in the world. Like the Golden Gate Bridge,

Bay Area Rapid Transit, Interstate 5 and the California

Aqueduct before it, high-speed rail has engendered

opposition, consternation and litigation. Every bold,

transformative vision faces that litany.

This year's state budget includes high-speed rail as an

important part of California's landmark effort to reduce

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2/4/2014 Taking California's bullet train to a greener future - latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-kelly-california-high-speed-rail-20140129,0,2395887.story#axzz2rzeJdO00 2/5

greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. Although

the Air Resources Board included high-speed rail in its 2008

greenhouse gas reduction plan, the project's economic

benefits have been discussed in more detail than its

environmental ones.

Today, California has 32 million registered vehicles, more

cars and trucks that travel more miles — more than 330

billion — than any other state. Without high-speed rail, the

existing transportation infrastructure cannot reasonably

meet the demands of the projected 12 million new

Californians coming to this state. The alternative to high-

speed rail is an estimated investment of more than $150

billion to build 4,300 new lanes of highway, more freeways

and hundreds of new airport gates and runways, covering

large swaths of the state with concrete and asphalt. The effect

on the environment — water and air quality, open space, food

supply, noise and climate — would be substantial.

PHOTOS: Is Gov. Jerry Brown saving California or

ruining it?

Although we should preserve our highway system to meet

some of this demand, we also need opportunities for

travelers to shift from petroleum-based fuels to biofuels,

electric vehicles and public transit. This cannot happen

unless we modernize and expand California's rail system —

including high-speed rail and regional, urban and commuter

rail.

Europe's experience with high-speed rail is illustrative. After

high-speed rail launched in Europe, air trips were cut in half

from Paris to London. In Spain, the impact was even more

dramatic. For the 315-mile trip from Barcelona to Madrid,

more than 60% of air travelers have switched to the 21/2-

hour rail ride. Closer to home, Angelenos living near the

Metro Expo Line tripled their public transit ridership and

reduced daily driving 40% after light rail opened.

High-speed rail has the same potential to change the way

people travel in California. By 2040, it could reduce car

miles traveled in the state by 3.6 billion miles a year, the

equivalent of taking 317,000 cars off the road daily. And by

2020, the project is estimated to eliminate between 278,000

and 674,000 net metric tons of greenhouse gases from

voluntary emissions reductions, electrification of local rail

and other efforts. High-speed rail will be constructed with net-zero emissions and operate 100%

from renewable energy.

This statewide rail system would also give rise to transit and pedestrian-friendly development,

which, in turn, preserves Central Valley farmland. The city of Fresno, for example, has approved a

land-use plan that directs growth to infill and denser development in the city core, while barring

expansion into prime farmland on the city's outskirts. A key element of this downtown development

is the future high-speed rail station and its connection to transit.

California is on track to meet its 2020 emission reduction goals under AB 32, and we need

investments in rail modernization to help achieve long-term reductions beyond that date. Reducing

car travel, promoting infill and transit-oriented development, preserving farmland and open space,

and avoiding massive highway and airport expansions are all part of the high-speed rail project and

the vision for California transportation.

The project also serves as a catalyst for $50 million in the governor's current budget for

improvements and upgrades to local rail transit systems in Los Angeles and San Francisco as part of

the overall statewide system to improve mobility.

When it was finished in 1869, the transcontinental railroad cut the journey from the East Coast to

California from months to days, uniting the West and creating a new spirit of optimism. Through our

commitment to high-speed rail, we can repeat such a transformation and accomplish something that

hasn't been done in more than 100 years of transit: Unite California with a sustainable, statewide

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2/4/2014 Taking California's bullet train to a greener future - latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-kelly-california-high-speed-rail-20140129,0,2395887.story#axzz2rzeJdO00 3/5

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transportation system.

Brian P. Kelly is California's secretary of transportation; Mary D. Nichols is chairman of the

California Air Resources Board.

Copy r ig h t © 2 01 4 , Los A n g eles Tim es

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