high-speed rail

The latest "high-speed" (45 mph) rail project

By: Michael Barone 06/10/11 5:07 PM

The latest in lunacy in high-speed rail lunacy: at Joel Kotkin’s newgeography.com Wendell Cox reports that the U.S. Transportation Department is dangling money before the government of Iowa seeking matching funds from the state for a high-speed rail line from Iowa City to Chicago. Read More

The insane California high-speed rail project

By: Michael Barone 06/05/11 4:07 PM

I have been appalled by the Obama administration’s obstinate insistence on spending $3.6 billion of stimulus on the high-speed rail project in California, and I become more appalled the more I learn about it. The latest report of the state Legislative Analyst’s Office makes clear that this is crazy. Read More

Caltrain’s high-speed rail tab raises red flag

By: Will Reisman 05/22/11 4:00 AM

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is disputing bills from Caltrain that are worth more than $108,000, The San Francisco Examiner has learned. Under a 2009 contract between the two agencies for rail work on the Peninsula, Caltrain and the rail authority are supposed to split costs for a number of duties, including engineering, operations planning, and program management. Caltrain initially absorbs the costs, but then is reimbursed by the authority. Read More

High-speed rail route could rip up Interstate 280

By: Katie Worth 05/19/11 4:00 AM

The northernmost stretch of Interstate 280 could be demolished and turned into an Octavia Boulevard-like parkway under options being considered by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The freeway currently ends around Fourth and King streets, near AT&T Park. But documents obtained by The San Francisco Examiner show it could be removed north of 22nd Street to accommodate high-speed rail, which is expected to travel through the Peninsula along Caltrain’s route. Read More

LA Times: California High-speed rail is “a train wreck”

By: Conn Carroll 05/18/11 11:42 AM

How bad is President Obama’s sole remaining high-speed project going? So bad that even the editorial board of The Los Angels Times is calling it a “monument” to poor planning. They write: Read More

California Legislative Analyst’s Office: high-speed rail alredy 57% over budget

By: Conn Carroll 05/12/11 9:50 AM

First President Obama’s high-speed rail plans for Ohio and Wisconsin failed. Then his HSR plans for Florida bit the dust. Now the last Obama stimulus funded HSR plan is heading toward disaster. Read More

Proposal could slow high-speed rail in Peninsula

By: Will Reisman 05/04/11 10:25 PM

A high-speed rail proposal backed by Peninsula lawmakers would shave more than $4 billion off the cost of building a track between San Jose and San Francisco, but critics said it couldn’t attain the speeds voters demanded in a 2008 ballot measure. Read More

Peninsula cities joining forces to influence high-speed rail plan

By: Shaun Bishop 03/12/11 4:00 PM

A growing group of Peninsula cities are joining together in an effort to gain greater influence over plans for the San Francisco-to-San Jose section of the statewide bullet train system. Staff and elected officials from at least seven cities met last week in the latest effort to discuss their shared concerns surrounding the high-speed rail project. Read More

Mayor Ed Lee to greet President Obama at San Francisco International Airport

By: Mike Aldax 02/17/11 2:11 PM

Mayor Ed Lee planned to welcome President Barack Obama at San Francisco International Airport on Thursday night by saying “thank you” for the federal money earmarked for The City’s Central Subway project and high-speed rail.The president is set for a brief meeting with Bay Area business leaders in technology and innovation, according to a White House statement. Read More

A way to reduce the deficit

By: Deroy Murdock 02/13/11 11:41 PM

Notwithstanding President Barack Obama’s promise in his State of the Union address to freeze domestic discretionary spending for five years, Vice President Joseph Biden on Tuesday proposed $53 billion in high-speed rail projects atop $8 billion so previously “invested.” This is every boy’s dream: the ultimate train set. Thank you, Santa! Read More