4 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Los Angeles Times, 7/30:
 

New political and legal battle is shaping up for California bullet train

 

A seemingly obscure, two-sentence piece of state legislation is demonstrating the still unsettled political and legal foundations of California's troubled bullet train project.

 

Supporters of the legislation say they simply want to “clarify” highly technical wording of taxpayer protections written into the $9 billion bond that voters approved for high-speed rail in 2008 — part of an effort to avert lawsuits over spending some of the bond money to upgrade a Bay Area commuter rail system.

 

But rail opponents say the move is a direct attempt to gut taxpayer protections and have vowed to sue over the legislation, potentially stalling the project further.

 

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[Sloan]

 

 

Trump victory raises hopes for California high-speed rail

 

One of the more unlikely beneficiaries of Donald Trump’s victory in yesterday’s US presidential election is Jerry Brown, the Democratic governor of California (pictured), and his $64bn project to build a high-speed rail link between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

http://www.globalcon...hig7h/?src=ilaw

[Sloan]

 

 

Here's why California's high-speed rail system wants permission to buy foreign train components

 

The train-buying process has begun for California’s high-speed rail system with a request to federal authorities to buy some of the components from foreign countries, if necessary, because there are no U.S.-based high-speed train manufacturers.

http://www.bizjourna...stem-wants.html

[CNJRoss]

San Franciso Chronicle, 11/10:
 

Will Donald Trump support high-speed rail in California?

 

One unexpected benefit of Donald Trump's election as the next President of the United States could be additional future federal funding for California's high-speed rail system.

 

"Trump may be friendly to it," Sierra Club California Director Kathryn Phillips told the Chronicle. "He will want to create jobs."

 

Last March, Trump compared the United States rail system to that of a third world country. He lauded China for quickly building a nationwide high-speed rail system. "[The Chinese] have trains that go 300 miles per hour," said Trump. "We have trains that go chug-chug-chug."

 

During his election night victory speech, Trump emphasized that one of his top priorities will be funding a massive infrastructure program that could include high-speed rail projects across the nation.

 

Continue here.

[Sloan]

 

 

California's bullet train authority decides to buy American after all

http://www.latimes.c...1118-story.html