# CA HSR Really is Under Construction



## leemell

In this article, Dan Richard, board chairman of the Project admits that it really is under construction even though the start of construction has not been announced. Massive test pilings are being build on the Fresno River, 400+ properties are in acquisition, geologic and utility surveys are being made, etc.


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## Bob Dylan

If they keep it low key maybe the Nimbys and their ambulance chasing lawyers won't be able to file frivolous lawsuits and run up costs while delaying the project!


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## leemell

We can hope.


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## Blackwolf

Very good article series.


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## leemell

Fallows is a widely respected journalist who has a specialty in the hard side --- defense, engineering, infrastructure. He has been an editor of national journals as well and he is a California native.


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## leemell

A new article is out with the news that private investment is showing real interest in the project. It also mentions that demolition has begun in Fresno.


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## leemell

More work --- "not really construction" here.


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## leemell

Yet more "preliminary" work.


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## grover5995

One of the main hangups concerning this HSR project has been the overall cost and the possiblity of running out of money to finish. The revised plan calls for using shared track to reach downtown LA or SF which also greatly benefits commuter service.

Considerable savings could also be realized if the proposed Sacramento leg was replaced by double-tracking and electrifying the _*Capital Corridor from San Jose to Oakland to Sacramento. *_There would still be thru service from Sacramento to Southern CA at considerably lower cost.

The route proposal for LA to San Diego via Riverside could be replaced with a project to double-track and electrify the existing *LOSSAN Corridor from LA-Fullerton-San Diego. *This would also allow for operation of electric-powered equipment on Metrolink and Sounder service using the same route.

If primary emphasis is placed on SFO-LAX, this project could proceed more quickly. The route from Bakerfield-Southern CA is likely to be the most difficult and expensive link, but is crucial to the entire project. Has there been a serious look at highway right-of-way on state route 99 and Interstate 5 south of Bakersfield? This would allow faster schedules and involve less congestion on the Metrolink Antelope Valley line.


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## Green Maned Lion

Oh no! California wants to spend money on a better system when they could cheap out and get a shitty one instead! That's unAmerican, unChrsitian, unRepublican and unDemocrat.

Pfui.


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## leemell

I agree with GML. As far a the Tehatchapi pass it concerned, the cost would be more --- the nearly 5000' elevation is one problem and it has been researched by the planners extensively twice. That route would also cut out the Antelope Valley a large and rapidly growing population and preclude a Las Vegas connection should HSR be funded for that. As far as fully funding the CAHSR in advance, it would be the first and only infrastructure project of this scope to be fully funded at the outset. Too much time and too many varibles to do that even if you could. And for an argument not mentioned but goes along with this, there are a number of lawsuits attempting at their core to stop construction. Not a large infrastructure project has not had this to deal with this. Just for an example, the Golden Gate Bridge before it was completed, had over 2,500 lawsuit filed against it.


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## George Harris

> the Golden Gate Bridge before it was completed, had over 2,500 lawsuits against it.


 And don't forget that this was in the 1930's before the country was overwhelmed with lawyers and multiple regulations that had their primary purpose stopping anything being built anywhere.
The I-5 route has been studied multiple times with essentially the same conclusions: Significant political oppositions from groups that are well connected enough to make the line DOA. Fault lines across the route located such that the logical alignment would cross them in tunnel, which is something YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO. There is significant population in the Antelope valley that wants service.

When it comes to the supposedly shorter and better line along I-5, it has been studied to death. Quit beating a dead horse.

By the way, there was a study done years ago concerning electrification of Los Angeles to San Diego. There were loud screams from those along the way about how ugly the overhead wires would be, among other things. Regardless of what is done or not done on the true HSR route to San Diego, the current route should be double tracked, some of the slow areas straightened, a good medium speed south entrance built to LAUS, and with all the above 15 plus minutes could be cut off the existing times even with continued diesel operation.


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## leemell

George Harris said:


> the Golden Gate Bridge before it was completed, had over 2,500 lawsuits against it.
> 
> 
> 
> By the way, there was a study done years ago concerning electrification of Los Angeles to San Diego. There were loud screams from those along the way about how ugly the overhead wires would be, among other things. Regardless of what is done or not done on the true HSR route to San Diego, the current route should be double tracked, some of the slow areas straightened, a good medium speed south entrance built to LAUS, and with all the above 15 plus minutes could be cut off the existing times even with continued diesel operation.
Click to expand...

A lot of that is already under way or in the pipe.


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## leemell

Next in Fallows series is here.


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## CHamilton

New House majority leader promises to block Calif. railway funding



> Newly installed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) promised on Monday that he would "do all that I can to ensure not one dollar of federal funding goes to boondoggles like [California's] high-speed rail."


 
This is remarkable, since Rep. McCarthy was elected from California's 23rd District, an area that will see many jobs and benefits from the CAHSR project.



> California's 23rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The current district is centered in areas of the southern San Joaquin Valley and southern Sierra Nevada, the Tehachapi Mountains, and the northwestern Mojave Desert. It includes the cities of Mojave and Ridgecrest, as well as most of Bakersfield.


Is Rep. McCarthy so attuned to national politics that he is working against the best interests of his own district? Maybe he should look at what happened to Eric Cantor (or Tom Foley). All politics is still local.


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## leemell

Yes.


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## leemell

Number 7 in the Fallows series.


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## Green Maned Lion

Didn't we already learn not to elect McCarthys?


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## Bob Dylan

Green Maned Lion said:


> Didn't we already learn not to elect McCarthys?


Good one Lion! As Will Rogers said: "The problem with political jokes is that too many get elected!"


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## Tokkyu40

leemell said:


> Number 7 in the Fallows series.


Very cool.

I was honored to see that he included my letter on the advantages of the Highway 99 corridor, although my mom will be surprised to know that my name is now "a reader in Southern California."

This is a very interesting series.


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## leemell

From this article in the Fresno Bee"

"The State Public Works Board on Wednesday approved the selection of nearly 160 parcels in Fresno and Kings counties for eventual acquisition for California's controversial high-speed train project.

Meeting in Sacramento at the state Capitol, the panel comprised of the heads of the state's Finance, General Services and Transportation departments, also adopted resolutions declaring a public necessity to condemn four pieces of property in Fresno and Madera counties for the rail line."

With the acquisition of these properties, the project will have a clear shot through Fresno.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/13/4068668/state-board-approves-high-speed.html#storylink=cpy


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## leemell

This article is number 9 in the Fallows series and is a point-by-point rebuttal of the criticisms in the prior atrticle.


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## Shawn Ryu

This project has corruption all over it.


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## leemell

Just speculation or do you have some evidence?


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## Blackwolf

Shawn Ryu said:


> This project has corruption all over it.


Oy, and there is likely corruption in the operation of your local gas station too. Yes, any major project will have selfish interests involved, especially the largest transportarion infrastructure development in North America this century. The rebuttals are very well written IMHO and really silence the majority of the common complaints about the project with solid research-backed responses.

Even with the organization pitfalls, this can (and quite possibly will) not be just a Big Dig West but actually become one if the pinnacle examples of modern accomplishment done right.


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## Green Maned Lion

Highly corrupt. Agreed. What public works project isn't?


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## Tokkyu40

Green Maned Lion said:


> Highly corrupt. Agreed. What public works project isn't?


What major financial project of any kind isn't corrupt?

As soon as someone starts spending money, somebody else wants a piece of it.


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## Shawn Ryu

Green Maned Lion said:


> Highly corrupt. Agreed. What public works project isn't?


True, this is California


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## Green Maned Lion

I wouldn't geographically limit it.


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## Shawn Ryu

Some places are worse than others


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## leemell

Here is an excerpt of an artilce in the May/June 2014 _Public Administration Review_ based on a study of corruption by state. You guys peaked my interest so I did some digging. The results are interesting and seem to follow the general perception with some exceptions. You will note that California is ranked in the least corrupt third group.

Ranking America's ten most and least corrupt states




By  Richard L. Cassin | Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 10:28AM




Click image to enlarge (Courtesy of the Public Administration Review)A study by Indiana University and the City University of Hong Kong has ranked the U.S. states from least to most corrupt, with Mississippi scoring worst and Oregon as best.

In the 10 most corrupt states, public spending averaged $1,308 extra per capita — 5.2% of the mean per capita expenditure for all 50 states, the study found.

There was a strong correlation between higher levels of public spending and corruption in all the worst states except South Dakota.

Researchers examined 25,000 convictions for violating federal anti-corruption laws between 1976 and 2008.

The results produced a "corruption index" for all 50 states comparing convictions and the number of government employees.

The study ranked the ten most corrupt states (from worst at number one) as follows:

The worst states generally spent more per capita for construction, government employee wages, and law enforcement, the study found.

1. Mississippi
2. Louisiana
3. Tennessee
4. Illinois
5. Pennsylvania
6. Alabama
7. Alaska
8. South Dakota
9. Kentucky
10. Florida

And the laggards typically undertook big infrastructure projects with money trails that weren't fully transparent, according to the findings.

The worst-ranked states usually showed lower funding for public welfare, education, and health.

Using the same methodology, the study ranked the 10 least corrupt states as:

A full copy of the study is available in the May/June 2014 _Public Administration Review_* here*.

1. Oregon
2. Washington
3. Minnesota
4. Nebraska
5. Iowa
6. Vermont
7. Utah
8. New Hampshire
9. Colorado
10. Kansas


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## Shawn Ryu

Least corrupt state also tend to have less people in the state it seems.


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## leemell

Except for Alaska and South Dakota maybe.


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## George Harris

But, when you look at this:



> "The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia reported 336 federal convictions over that time period," Wilson said. "New Jersey’s U.S. attorney reported 428 convictions; and the four U.S. attorneys who oversee Texas reported 775 convictions. By contrast, Oregon registered just 42 convictions during that period." The most corrupt states -- Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee -- registered more than four times more convictions than the least-corrupt states. - See more at: http://fcpablog.squarespace.com/blog/2014/9/3/how-does-oregon-keep-itself-so-clean.html#sthash.WJZIiErX.dpuf .


Is it more corruption, or more zealous law enforcement? Using this method, number of convictions, the best way to show low or no corruption is to quit enforcing the anti-corruption laws, or, since it is based on convictions, quit building good enough cases to achieve convictions from charges made. Otherwise, how does New Jersey with its generally smelly reputation avoid being in the top 10, or even the top 2 or 3? As someone else has said, where is the District of Columbia?


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## leemell

This article is number 10 in the Fallows series and is a point-by-point rebuttal of the criticisms in the prior article.


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## leemell

This article is number 11 in the Fallows series.


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## JayPea

Shawn Ryu said:


> Least corrupt state also tend to have less people in the state it seems.


Washington being an exception.


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## CHamilton

Will California’s First High Speed Train go to Las Vegas?



> It is looking more and more that California’s first High Speed Train will go to Las Vegas. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, a major supporter of California- Las Vegas High Speed Rail service, says he has been talking with Governor Brown about the future of California-Las Vegas High Speed Rail. Senator Reid has said that an announcement about a new financial plan for the project will be made soon that will get Las Vegas High Speed Rail back on track.


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## Paulus

As long as California doesn't pay a dime for it and is paid for the use of the stations and tracks.


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## neroden

On corruption:

Corruption isn't always bad. Chicago has thrived on corruption from very early -- when the city leaders bribed the railroads to put their terminals in Chicago rather than the natural location, Gary.

Clean, honest Gary has suffered ever since, while Chicago has thrived.

My point is that the Chicago system is a system, a culture, it works. You can call it corruption, but it's a system of favors where the alderman "brings home the pork" for "his people", and if he lines his own nest at the same time, people don't complain too much. If he doesn't do what his voters want, if he treats too many of them as if they "don't matter", well *then* you get a huge fight; the rise of Mayor Washington has been described as the black community demanding in on the system, which had been excluding them. They are now part of the system.

Not all corruption is like that. Some corruption is totally destructive to society. It's worth distinguishing between "corruption" which has some sort of loyalty to the community, and raw smash-and-loot jobs.


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## Shawn Ryu

neroden said:


> Clean, honest Gary has suffered ever since, while Chicago has thrived.



I doubt being clean and honest is why Gary is in the state it is now.


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## Green Maned Lion

Corruption is corruption. And New Jersey, under Governor Chris Christie, is undoubtedly the worst. And to think he was a front runner for a Republican presidential candidate.

The conviction rate does not indicate diddly squat, except perhaps how corrupt the justice branch is - highly in Jersey.


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## Shawn Ryu

Green Maned Lion said:


> Corruption is corruption. And New Jersey, under Governor Chris Christie, is undoubtedly the worst. And to think he was a front runner for a Republican presidential candidate.
> 
> The conviction rate does not indicate diddly squat, except perhaps how corrupt the justice branch is - highly in Jersey.



Wrong.

Christie is a choir boy compared to Corzine and McGreevey


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## Green Maned Lion

I don't argue with you. I just tell you that they are wrong.

McSleezy, Corzine and Christie- Scum, Scummier, Scummiest.


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## Bob Dylan

Re: Public Corription. I'll disagree with you neroden!

All Public money comes from Taxes which are supposed to used for the "Public Good!" When Politicians steal it and provide " No Show" jobs like happens in most Corrupt Cities or States, this deprives those that need Government services the most! ( ie the poor and minorities!) But really everyone suffers from the Corruption!

A Thief, by any name, is a Thief and we all pay for it!!!

And "Clean" Gary was a cesspool of Corruption, run worse than Detroit! Take a look @ it today, its probably the single worst City in America to live in!


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## Green Maned Lion

Nah. Washington DC is way more of a cesspool. Especially K street.


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## Ispolkom

neroden said:


> On corruption:
> 
> Corruption isn't always bad. Chicago has thrived on corruption from very early -- when the city leaders bribed the railroads to put their terminals in Chicago rather than the natural location, Gary.
> 
> Clean, honest Gary has suffered ever since, while Chicago has thrived.


Gary was founded in 1906, generations after Chicago became a railroad center. Given that it was a US Steel company town, clean and honest are not useful adjectives.


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## Thomas

Does the CAHSRA still need a Memorandum of Understanding with BNSF and UPRR to start construction? What if they do not agree on an MOU?


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## Anderson

Thomas said:


> Does the CAHSRA still need a Memorandum of Understanding with BNSF and UPRR to start construction? What if they do not agree on an MOU?


I don't think they need one. IIRC, It was X-Train that needed an MOU, mainly because they were going to operate over their tracks.


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## Paulus

They'll be using BNSF and UP ROW in places; they've already got an MOU with UP as I recall.


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## leemell

This article is number 12 in the Fallows series.


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## leemell

CA HSR just won a major court victory. The SCOC has just declined to rule in the major against lawsuit using Prop 1 funds. and let the Authorities victory stand and should clear the way for major construction. This article has the details.


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## sitzplatz17

Green Maned Lion said:


> Nah. Washington DC is way more of a cesspool. Especially K street.


Hey! i work on K street!


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## Bob Dylan

Are you one of the Good Guy Lobbyists?

(the few, the proud, the brave!)


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## beautifulplanet

Thank you very much for posting this.



leemell said:


> This article is number 12 in the Fallows series.


At the point of time you posted this, many might have been thinking "Does the California High-Speed Rail series of articles by James Fallows ever come to an end?",  but then again, many might think it's good to have some ongoing public debate about the project and its different aspects.

It seems like a few hours ago, article 13 was published:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/california-high-speed-rail-lucky-no-13-lets-look-at-maglev/381638/?single_page=true

It is about alternatives to high-speed rail like self-driving cars and magnetic levitation trains. Some might be really happy to read the sentence "Elon Musk's 'Hyperloop' transport vision [...] is still hypothetical enough that I'll leave it for another time" - so that smokescreen anti-high-speed-rail campaign is finally seen as something similar to what it is.

Seeing Maglev as at least a theoretical alternative to high-speed rail, many might be able to understand that, still many might be surprised to see the theme of "self-driving cars are an alternative to high-speed rail" be picked up here - especially since self-driving cars might also still be "hypothetical enough" for many. Many might realize that the different "assisted drive" features offered today don't equal "self-driving". Most of all, many might think that self-driving cars in no way would even compete with with high-speed rail - one would have to speak of cars in general competing with high-speed rail, still many might realize that it doesn't make a difference if they are "self-driving" (which is likely not going to happen anytime soon out of liability issues, and "assisted drive" does not equal "self-driving") or not.

Despite the claim by the anonymous reader of James Fallows from the "advanced-research parts of the info-tech industry" that "Self-driving cars can be faster on highways because they can caravan", this seems to be absolutely counter-factual, as there is no indication at all yet that speed limits will be lifted to allow "self-driving" cars to speed by all the "slow" cars that are not "self-driving".

California high-speed rail will connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than 3 hours - will cars that are not "self-driving" connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than 3 hours? No, they won't. Will "self-driving" cars connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than 3 hours? No, they won't. Driving the distance, it is likely it will take double that time. One could go and mention other examples here, Fresno to San Jose, Bakersfield to Los Angeles etc., still the answer remains the same.

California high-speed rail will also be used be commuters a lot. To just cite one example, it will connect Palmdale to Los Angeles in less than 30 minutes. Will cars that are not "self-driving" connect Palmdale and Los Angeles within 30 minutes? No, they won't, it's likely to be double that time. Will "self-driving" cars connect Palmdale and Los Angeles within 30 minutes? No, they won't, it's likely to be double that time. Will cars that are not "self-driving" be stuck in traffic on US-101, CA-170 or I-5? Yes, they will be. Will "self-driving" cars be stuck in traffic on US-101, CA-170 or I-5? Yes, they will be. So to some it seems obvious that it doesn't matter if cars are "self-driving" or not. Many might think, it's still just cars. And many might think, cars with all the negative effects and externalities immanent to them.


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## frequentflyer

Who has California chosen for its rolling stock?

www.jchighspeedrail.com


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## Paulus

frequentflyer said:


> Who has California chosen for its rolling stock?


Nobody yet.


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## leemell

The CHSRA just issued a Request of Interest for rolling stock and heavy maintenance. RFQs, RPFs will follow starting late this year I would guess.


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## jis

10 expressions of interest in California high speed fleet


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## Anderson

Here's the list from that article:


Alstom Transportation;
AnsaldoBreda;
Bombardier Transit Corp;
CSR Corp;
Hyundai Rotem;
Marnell Transportation;
Kawasaki Rail Car;
Siemens Industry;
SunGroup USA & World Harmony City/CNR Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co;
Talgo.
The only ones on the list I don't recognize are CSR, Marnell, and that whole SunGroup group (which I understand to be a Chinese mess, hence the fun name). I'm surprised that nobody from Japan showed up (though CSR, who I keep mistyping as CSX, might be them) since apparently JR East was looking into pursuing this.

Edit: Kawasaki might well provide this link, too.


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## leemell

CRS is China National Railway Locomotive and Rolling Stock.


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## leemell

This article is number 14 in the Fallow series with links to number 13.


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## Paulus

Marnell is XpressWest, probably looking to tag along.


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## Anderson

Well, I'm glad to see that XpressWest isn't dead yet. If I had to guess, that project will self-resurrect once they can time their startup with CAHSR getting service into Burbank and/or LAUS.


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## Paulus

Anderson said:


> Well, I'm glad to see that XpressWest isn't dead yet. If I had to guess, that project will self-resurrect once they can time their startup with CAHSR getting service into Burbank and/or LAUS.


Need to find someone foolish enough to fund them first.


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## leemell

With US and CA qualified manufacturer they can reopen the FRA loan.


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## jis

leemell said:


> CRS is China National Railway Locomotive and Rolling Stock.


See http://www.cbbc.org/guide/chinese_regional_cities/rail_sector_profile
CNR is China Northern Railway and CSR is China Southern Railway. Both have locomotive and rolling stock manufacturing facilities. both are headquartered in Beijing. Apparently they are proposing to participate separately competing with each other in the CAHSR.

BTW, I don't think the XpressWest will get any RRIF loan in the near future. With Harry Reid slated to lose his bully pulpit in a few weeks, and with the current administration in lame duck situation, things will have to wait until the next administration before such a controversial issue is taken up. Just IMHO of course.


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## leemell

More Wikipedia slightly misinformation. Thanks for the update.


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## leemell

Hitting self on head! This probably why DE/EW made a presentation to the CHSRA Board a few weeks ago.


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## beautifulplanet

Some local feedback to CAHSR from Burbank:

Officials present route options for high-speed rail

Tunnel suggestion for bullet train draws mixed feedback at open-house meeting

December 9, 2014

By Chad Garland

http://www.burbankleader.com/news/tn-blr-officials-present-route-options-for-highspeed-rail-20141209,0,5876952.story


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## Blackwolf

CAHSRA announces the bid results on the next 65-mile segment of the Central Valley line:



> The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) has identified Dragados/Flatiron/Shimmick as the apparent best value team for the design-build contract for Construction Package 2-3 (CP 2-3), the next 65 mile segment from Fresno to North of Bakersfield.



http://hsr.ca.gov/docs/Programs/Construction/CP2_3_Authority_Announces_Bid_Results_on_Next_Segment_of_Construction_in_the_Central_Valley_121114.pdf


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## Paulus

Dragados/Flatiron/Shimmick selected to build 65 mile segment from Fresno to north of Bakersfield. Bid amounted to $1,234,567,890, fully $500 million below the next lowest bid and below the $1.5-2 billion anticipated expense.


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## Ryan

$1234567890?

Really?


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## Anderson

Why do I get a feeling that they were landing in that general range and someone in accounting decided to have some fun?


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## Paulus

STB preempts CEQA injunctions against CAHSR


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## leemell

Official Groundbreaking on Jan. 8th.


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## leemell

Paulus said:


> Dragados/Flatiron/Shimmick selected to build 65 mile segment from Fresno to north of Bakersfield. Bid amounted to $1,234,567,890, fully $500 million below the next lowest bid and below the $1.5-2 billion anticipated expense.


. They weren't just the lowest bidders, they also had the highest technical scores as well.


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## beautifulplanet

Thank you for posting this.



Paulus said:


> Dragados/Flatiron/Shimmick selected to build 65 mile segment from Fresno to north of Bakersfield. Bid amounted to $1,234,567,890, fully $500 million below the next lowest bid and below the $1.5-2 billion anticipated expense.


James Fallows seems to have a possibility to get a reply from Dan Richard, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, within a very short amount of time - this time, about the Dragados bid and how it can be so low:

That Winning Bid for California's High-Speed Rail: Is It Suspiciously Low?

December 13, 2014

By James Fallows

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/that-winning-bid-for-californias-high-speed-rail-is-it-too-low/383737/


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## Devil's Advocate

Enterprise estimating software will happily process your costs and expenses down to fractions of pennies. That being said it's exceedingly rare to see a large commercial bid _submitted_ as a string of sequential numbers that contain significant digits all the way down to tens of dollars. If that's the actual bid as submitted then I think we can safely assume it is no mere coincidence. That figure may have been a placeholder or a mistake but it would be unbelievably unlikely to end up with such a result organically.



Anderson said:


> Why do I get a feeling that they were landing in that general range and someone in accounting decided to have some fun?


Large commercial bids are not a appropriate target for casual number games. If there is future legal or financial dispute then submitting a bid which risks looking careless or haphazard might come back to haunt you.


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## CHamilton

Surface Transportation Board Says It Preempts CEQA




> Late last Friday the federal Surface Transportation Board voted 2-1 that its approval of the high speed rail project between Fresno and Bakersfield “categorically preempts” lawsuits filed against the project based on the California Environmental Quality Act:
> 
> _Applying the well-established preemption principles here, the Board concludes that CEQA is categorically preempted by § 10501(b) in connection with the Line. As the Board has previously found, CEQA is a state preclearance requirement that, by its very nature, could be used to deny or significantly delay an entity’s right to construct a line that the Board has specifically authorized, thus impinging upon the Board’s exclusive jurisdiction over rail transportation._
> 
> ...The STB’s ruling is that third parties cannot sue using CEQA to block HSR, because that would represent a use of state law to trump federal authority. The Fresno Bee’s Tim Sheehan reports that at least seven lawsuits against HSR are likely to be affected by this, including suits brought by Kings County, Kern County, Shafter, Bakersfield, and others. All those lawsuits that rely on CEQA are, presumably, going to be thrown out of court.


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## Bob Dylan

" ..First we kill all the lawyers.."

William Shakespeare


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## jis

STB has asserted preemption over California Environmental Laws as far as the California HSR project is concerned. This could be a huge time saver for CAHSR

See: http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/regulatory/stb-grants-chsra-preemption-request.html?channel=40


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## leemell

The Fresno Bee estimates that it will result in at least 7 lawsuits being thrown out of court. Notable the ones brought by Kings Count, Shaftter, and Bakersfield.


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## beautifulplanet

While many might think that when fully constructed, high-speed rail will add some much-needed transportation infrastructure to the state of California, the process of getting there is bringing jobs to parts of the state that desperately need them:

Central Valley Job Seekers Pin High Hopes on High-Speed Rail

December 16, 2014

By Alice Daniel

http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/12/16/central-valley-job-seekers-pin-high-hopes-on-high-speed-rail


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## CHamilton

A discussion of the above from the California High Speed Rail Blog.

HSR: A Pathway Out of Poverty


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## Crescent ATN & TCL

frequentflyer said:


> Who has California chosen for its rolling stock?
> 
> www.jchighspeedrail.com


God I hope they don't pick shinkansen style trainsets. The tiny windows make them feel like an airplane on the inside. I'm hoping for siemens velaro trains, nice big windows, bright open interiors, plus being able to see through the front windshield in the lead cars.


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## Shawn Ryu

Crescent ATN & TCL said:


> frequentflyer said:
> 
> 
> 
> Who has California chosen for its rolling stock?
> 
> www.jchighspeedrail.com
> 
> 
> 
> God I hope they don't pick shinkansen style trainsets. The tiny windows make them feel like an airplane on the inside. I'm hoping for siemens velaro trains, nice big windows, bright open interiors, plus being able to see through the front windshield in the lead cars.
Click to expand...

They would bring some unconventional design to America though, and god knows when it comes to trains America needs different.


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## Blackwolf

I have to suspect that one of the things CAHSRA would want in the final design is large windows. Historically speaking, larger windows for public transit projects within California have been a specified contract item. I imagine the high speed rail project will be no different. If a Shinkansen trainset is selected, big windows will _probably _be ordered as a must have item. Just my suspicion on the matter.


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## Tokkyu40

Window design is important. The last time I flew on one of the newer Boeings I had a great view of the wall above the window.


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## leemell

Ground breaking ceremony for the CAHSR notice on January 6th.


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## Tokkyu40

James Fallows is back with an interview with Dan Richard.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/dan-richard-on-high-speed-rail/386621/


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