Unfortunately, Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), the committee's chair, has been bent on leveraging that "cadre of petroleum worshipers" to rob the project of $4.8 billion for electrification of the well-under-construction Central Valley spine. That electrification money is essential to building a true HSR line, but Friedman wants to divert the money to Southern California
Phase of HSR. When it first starts operating, HSR trains can continue north of the area in the green oval on the Amtrak lines, shown in blue. Photo: CAHSRA
Friedman's justification is that running Amtrak directly onto the HSR spine would eliminate a transfer.
The plan now is for HSR trains to run at 220 mph from Bakersfield to Merced. Passengers will then walk across a platform to a waiting Amtrak train, which will carry them to the Bay Area and Sacramento as an interim service. Friedman argues this transfer will harm ridership to a point that it negates the advantages of electrifying the Central Valley spine.
She has argued that a one-seat ride is paramount to providing a good service, but has incorrectly claimed that HSR can't offer this. In fact, electric HSR trains could continue directly on non-electrified tracks north of Merced, towed by an Amtrak diesel - which would eliminate the need for a transfer.
The High Speed Rail Authority prefers to use a cross-platform transfer at Merced (see map above) between HSR and Amtrak because it's the most cost effective way to provide service. HSR trains are expensive, and if they spend a good deal of their day getting towed between the Central Valley and the Bay Area and Sacramento providing one-seat rides, the state will need to buy more of them to maintain frequent service on the HSR spine.
The cost issue is real, but it belies a bigger, longer-term concern. Thanks to the onslaught of misinformation disseminated by the L.A. Times Ralph Vartabedian and his colleagues at oil-backed "think tanks," many Californians in the coastal cities barely know the HSR project is under construction. That would change if they regularly saw bullet trains trundling through Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento. And it would, once and for all, blow up the pernicious lie, repeated ad nauseam by the LA Times and others, that the HSR line is "isolated." Diesel tows can also bring one-seat rides to Los Angeles and San Diego sooner as the Tehachapi mountain segments are built in the "early priority" gap shown on the above map.
More people will ride if there's a one-seat trip available from the Bay Area to the cities of the Central Valley. That's why the Europeans run diesel-towed or dual-mode services despite the additional costs (see picture below of one such service in France). Friedman once made the point that a family isn't going to want to transfer between HSR and Amtrak and will drive instead. She's right about that, maybe. But that's an argument for finding money to provide diesel-towed, one-seat services, not for pilfering the electrification money.
A diesel locomotive towing a TGV that originated in Paris directly to Les Sables-d'Olonne at conventional speeds (this line has since been electrified and the diesel tow is no longer needed). Photo: Railfan Europe
With a friendly administration in Washington, it should be possible to find the money for enough train sets to do diesel tows and eliminate the transfer. There needs to be an honest conversation about it.
It's Assemblymember Friedman's job, as chair of the committee, to facilitate one.
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Details on the meeting below: Please lend your voice and testify supporting the Business Plan over the phone during the public comment period. Advocates should urge the Assembly to stay the course and complete the 171 miles in the Central Valley, fully electrified.
What: Assembly Hearing: California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Draft 2020 Business PlanWhen: 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2021Where: 877-692-8957, access code: 242 62 37.
Please share you emphatic support by email or direct testimony. Note that the Assemblymembers go into session at 9:00 a.m. on 3/10 and the public testimony begins at noon. So the earlier you can communicate the better.