☆ Opinion: Politically-driven CA HSR doomed from the start

David Schonbrunn is the president of the Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) and a longtime rail advocate. In this Opp Now exclusive, he refutes a recent claim that, yes, California’s HSR is a black hole for taxpayer money—but it’s too late to abandon it now. Here, Schonbrunn explains that under its nonsensical, politically-motivated route, this HSR is destined for failure, and needs a full reboot.

The issue with California’s high speed rail is that politicians have taken what is otherwise a good technology and put together a project that cannot work. That’s the fundamental problem.

At TRAC, we are rail advocates who fully see HSR as important for California—but not this project. And it would be better to shut it down and start it all over again because the planners have been wrong every step of the way. Again, I’m saying this as a rail advocate, not a political person.

The route is the most ridiculous part of this HSR. It would need to be altered if the project were restarted because it’s inherently dysfunctional. A high-speed train is not compatible with providing service in the 99 Corridor. The two just don’t fit together in any way, shape, or form.

It’s been clear from the start that if CA is to have HSR, it would need to cover most of its own costs. In fact, the bond measure requires it to not have any state subsidies. Well, you can’t accomplish that unless you can travel from Point A to Point B directly and fast. And this project doesn’t do that. It was disadvantaged from the very beginning by its political fathers. It never had a chance to succeed.

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