Hoping to contain an escalating $4.5 billion budget, transit executives are encouraging officials with the state's high speed rail project to adopt a more conservative approach to connecting Anaheim with downtown Los Angeles.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority is considering constructing exclusive tracks to carry the bullet train between the two cities as part of a broader, $45 billion dollar plan to connect San Deigo to San Francisco.
But construction of the tracks would require condemning hundreds of homes and businesses, the LA Times reported.
Local officials have suggested the Rail Authority should instead consider sharing existing tracks used by Amtrak, Metrolink, and freight trains -- a move that could save as much as $2 billion dollars.
Rail Authority officials say they've examined a shared-use plan before and concluded there wasn't enough track to support all the demand. Plans call for the Bullet train to run every five minutes.
Art Leahy, chief executive of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, expressed frustration with the Rail Authority's current direction.
According to the LA Times:
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"I really can't understand their approach," he said. "In many cases they've ridden roughshod over the host of cities in Orange County and in Los Angeles. They have ignored input and there are assumptions that are just astonishing."
Among other things, Leahy questioned designing the system to run trains every five minutes. "That's extraordinary," he said. And widening the corridor to add dedicated bullet train tracks could require taking out hundreds of homes in Anaheim alone, he noted. "I mean, just crazy stuff," he said, according to a recording of the session obtained by The Times.
Rail Authority officials say they are working with local communities to minimize the system's impact and welcome more dialogue with local officials.
California is expected to get $2.25 billion in federal stimulus to help fund the project. Construction could start in two years.
