TunnelTalk

November 2008: California's high speed rail was a winner in the recent US general elections when state voters agreed a $10 billion public funding ballot measure. This is one of 23 public funding measures in 16 states for a total of more than $70 billion to gain voter approval. Advocates of California's high speed rail are now anxious to get construction started and the system in operation by 2020.

A complete list of initiatives and how they fared is published by the Center for Transportation Excellence (CFTE)

Snapshot

California to bring HSR to North America

Paula Wallis reports for TunnelTalk
Project
700 miles from San Francisco and Sacrameto in Northern California to Los Angeles and San Diego in the South.
Tunnels
30 to 50 miles of tunnels on starter line from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anahiem.
Type
Rail
Cost
Estimated $40 billion
Owner
California High Speed Rail Authority
Funding
PPP with $9.95 billion public bond
News
California passes $9.95 billion bond measure for High Speed Rail on November 4, 2008. Environmental review and preliminary engineering underway. Efforts also underway to secure $10 billion in federal funding and some $15 billion in private investment. Likely to be a DBOM (design-build-operate-maintain) contract.
References
Americans approve billions for transit projects