Could a Californian high speed rail service bolster the state economy?

A plan to construct a $40 billion high-speed rail system in the state of California has the potential to create 160,000 jobs in the currently flagging construction industry and create another permanent 450,000 jobs. But what is stopping the state from breaking ground on the scheme right now?

The Californian High Speed Rail Authority has stated they expect the network to be created by 2035, utilizing the state's skilled work force. As a result of the high-speed railway, the state's economy is predicted to soar as well as reducing air pollution, health care costs and auto accidents.

Currently, California has three of the top five most congested urban areas in the United States with wasted fuel and lost time costing the state $20 billion per year. The creation of such a network would reduce travel times, reduce delays to air and auto travelers as freeways and airports are relieved of congestion and generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue surplus.

However, many Californian residents are skeptical about the plans, raising concerns about declining property values. According to several schematics, the rail network would be routed through several neighbourhoods, such as Rosedale, albeit on an elevated track 30 to 40 feet off the ground. That feature will be one common throughout the proposed project, with the trains have zero interface with cars - as such, there will be no train horns, no crossing bells, and with the state of the art trains, no traditional 'clackety-clack' rail noise.

"No one has done this before in the United States," said Carrie L. Bowen, regional director for the Rail Authority. "The jobs it's going to bring ... include an estimated 160,000 construction related jobs alone."

Not just that, but those jobs will generate hotel stays, restaurant purchases, retail shopping and other spending that creates an "economic multiplier" effect on local communities.

The entire project is currently under review, with environmental issues and routes being designated, but the rail authorities are confident that the system should be ready for construction by 2012.

Learn more about the proposed rail network here - www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov

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