2008年，加州人同意花90億元興建美國第一條高速鐵路，經由中央山穀，南加北加可以在160分鍾內往來。但是15年過去了，期待中的高鐵仍在施工中，預期完工的時間一再延後，原本以為2028年洛杉磯奧運能夠通車，但是期盼2030年通車可能比較實際。麵對越來越高的民意期待，所有人都想問高鐵過不去的坎到底在哪？
這項雄心勃勃的基礎設施項目，連接洛杉磯和舊金山的500英哩的高速鐵路係統，將使乘客在大約數小時內從一個城市抵達另一城市。但自從加州高鐵管理局（High-Speed Rail Authority）在2015年首次動土動工以來，這一世紀工程一直受到法律挑戰、施工延誤和州府會領導人之間的分歧的困擾。同時，成本也急劇上升，整個係統的估計價格現在超過1000億美元，與最初450億美元的估計相差甚遠。
●聯邦金援15% 致建設龜速
加州高速鐵路管理局北加區域主任Boris Lipkin在最近一場研討會中就透露，高鐵興建至今，加州自籌資金占85%，聯邦隻占15%，「這個比例完全不對」，以40年前興建的州際高速公路來說，聯邦出了90%的經費，各州政府隻需負擔10%，除非聯邦願意出錢，否則高鐵隻能龜速前進。
Boris Lipkin還指出，美國與歐洲、亞洲已建高鐵的各國相比，聯邦從來沒有把高鐵當成首要目標。交通倡議人士Carter Lavin也出席了這場由Streetsblog基金會主辦的研討會，他同意Boris Lipkin的看法，並強調既然聯邦政府看重氣候變遷，百分之百使用可再生能源的加州高鐵就應該取得優先權，因為建成之後五年、十年，甚至30年，減碳的效果一定會出現，聯邦不能隻顧眼前。
主持人Roger Rudick也說，國家領袖的政治決心至為關鍵，甘迺迪總統在1962年承諾十年內登月，隻花了六年就把太空人送上月球；同樣地，聯係兩大洋的橫貫鐵道啟建時，美國還在內戰呢，經濟壓力絕對不低，但最後還是在1869年貫通。他說，既然中國能在15年內完成2萬5000哩的鐵道鋪設，世界最強的國家沒道理花了15年還完成不了加州高鐵。
●全球碳排最低運輸案
洛杉磯KTLA報導，中穀預定的171哩高鐵軌道，已有119哩正在施工，同時施工的工地達30個，顯示加州高鐵進度雖然緩慢，但還是有進展。另外，加州高鐵局在2023年8月24日宣布，正式展開車輛招標，申請時間至10月31日，2024年第一季定案。承造商應於2028年送達兩列測試用列車，其餘四列在2030年交貨。
高鐵局指出，以時速220哩、極速242哩運作的列車將能實現美國的高鐵夢。高鐵局自家網站也強調，興建完成的加州高鐵不僅施工過程減碳、少垃圾，營運後的列車也將全部使用幹淨能源，因此這項工程將是全球碳排總量最低的公共運輸方案。
雖然南北貫通的高鐵還有很多困難，特別是大量的隧道工程，但是完工後的經濟、社會效益卻很大，首先就是減碳，其次是真正實現可負擔住房。道理很簡單，原本住在中穀650萬人，不必長途駕駛到南北加上班，碳排自然減少；而且靠著高鐵通勤，會讓更多人能夠搬到房價低的地區，不必再在都會區咬牙過活。
Could the California High-Speed Rail be completed in the next 5 years?
by: Travis Schlepp
California High-Speed Rail, the most ambitious public transportation project in the state’s history, is still miles away from being completed, despite decades of discussion and nearly ten years of construction.
Progress has kicked up in recent years as environmental hurdles were cleared, and the High-Speed Rail Authority hopes to have the Central Valley segment, which will connect Merced to Bakersfield, completed by 2030 (give or take).
But what would it take to get the entire project — Bay Area to Los Angeles — completed even sooner? Maybe as soon as 2028, in time for the Olympics?
That’s what industry experts and activists met to discuss Wednesday evening during an online forum hosted by Streetsblog, an urban planning news and information website that focuses on transit and public safety.
While it might sound like a pipe dream, those in attendance for Wednesday’s roundtable discussion argue it could be done, albeit with a massive amount of cooperation and significant buy-in from the federal government.
Roger Rudick, editor at Streetsblog San Francisco and the moderator for the panel, argued that there is a long history of major public projects being conceived, planned and completed within much smaller timeframes.
“In 1962, President Kennedy said, ‘We will go to the moon before the decade is out.’ Six years later, humans traveled to the moon, and a year after that they walked on the moon,” Rudick said in his opening remarks. “The Transcontinental Railroad was built in six years. And they started construction during the Civil War. I would say that’s a pretty big socio-economic challenge for starting a big project.”
Rudick added that China was able to complete 25,000 miles of rail in the last 15 years, so there is plenty of precedent for one of the world’s superpowers to build a comparatively minuscule amount of rail in a similar timeframe.
So what’s standing in the way?
Boris Lipkin is the Northern California Regional Director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Appointed to the position by former California Governor Jerry Brown, and re-appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, he oversees the project between San Francisco and Merced County.
Lipkin says there’s a lot to juggle with such a massive undertaking, including working with municipalities, utility companies and environmental requirements.
He says the Authority faces hundreds and sometimes thousands of different “veto points” during construction, including blackout windows for construction, third parties being affected by the construction, and even competition with Burlington Northern Santa Fe – the nation’s largest freight rail company – which has the ability to pause construction during some of the busiest shipping months.
“There’s permitting, and other things that all kind of add up to the narrowing of construction windows of when you can actually do work,” Lipkin said, adding that the Authority is also trying to build while maintaining California’s “values,” including protecting prior rights and endangered species.
Rendering of the signature arches of the San Joaquin River Viaduct north of the city of Fresno. (California High-Speed Rail Authority)
He says almost all of the major environmental reviews have been completed, with the sole outlier being the segment between Palmdale and Burbank, and the Authority plans to have that completed by the end of the year.
In the meantime, construction is being done in the segments of the massive project that have already been approved. Meaningful progress has been made when dealing with the rail’s right-of-way and important infrastructure projects, including bridges and overpasses, have been completed throughout the Central Valley in preparation for the line’s eventual opening.
So the project is moving along, albeit at its own pace.
Major challenges are still on the horizon, including boring out tunnels for the rail, which, when completed, will be the longest rail tunnels in the U.S. The equipment needed for that crucial part of the rail system has a long lead time, Lipkin said.
But the Authority has also said that the enormous amount of work needed to get it done in an abbreviated window could be a bigger load than California’s various construction companies could handle.
“So we’re talking about some pretty big, big numbers,” Lipkin said. “It’s a question of, ‘Can that level of construction happen in that kind of timeframe?'”
Essentially, even if the project was fully funded, would there be enough labor to do it?
Carter Lavin, a transportation activist and political organizer, countered that that’s simply not a good enough reason to stick with the slower timeline.
“Labor shortages are a very common thing that happen across the board in every sector,” Lavin said. “There are people in other parts of the United States who would absolutely love to come to California and do the work.”
Rendering of a high-speed train in the Pacheco Pass. (California High-Speed Rail Authority)
Ultimately, though, Lipkin says it’s not a matter of will standing in the way of an early completion point, but rather, a lack of funding – an issue that has plagued the project since its inception.
Both Lipkin and the transit advocates who gathered to discuss an accelerated timeline concluded that an early completion would require the federal government to step in and help cover a significant portion of the bill.
“Out of the funding that we have so far, about 85% of that has come from the State of California, and 15% has come from the federal government,” Lipkin said. “When we did the highway system over thirty, forty years of highway construction, those ratios were reversed. So the federal government was 80 to 90% and state governments supported it with about 10% of the needed funding.”
California is doing its best to cover the costs, and Lipkin believes the project can be completed with the state footing the majority of the bill, but if Californians want the High-Speed Rail completed sooner, the federal government would have to chip in significantly more.
In agreement, Lavin argued that California’s economy and taxes contribute so much to the federal government, and in response, Washington should make the project a priority, especially as the current administration stares down the barrel of a climate emergency.
“The number one source of carbon emissions in California is cars,” Lavin said. “So when we’re connecting tens of millions of people with high-speed rail, when we’re connecting the 6.5 million people who live in the Central Valley with a high-speed rail, this will offset so much, this will get so many cars off the road.”
Making rail a priority is a challenge that the Authority says starts with changing mindsets.
“The differences between us and Europe, or Asia in this regard, is that, in many ways, high-speed rail projects are sort of the largest projects that governments usually undertake,” Lipkin said. “And in other parts of the world, that becomes sort of these national priorities in a way that I don’t think we’ve penetrated yet.”
One reason that other nations prioritize rail – tradition.
“In many cases in Europe, certainly there is a deep tradition of passenger rail ridership,” said Eric Eidlin, Station Planning Manager for the City of San Jose and an educator at San Jose State University. “There was always this sense that, you know, riding the train is a really important way to connect places and to get around.”
Aerial rendering of the Cedar Viaduct. (California High-Speed Rail Authority)
Eidlin added that completion of the expansive project should be treated with more urgency due to the implications of a possible “climate apocalypse,” with record-breaking temperatures across the globe driven by climate change.
“This project will take a long time to build, so the payoff will be in the long-term, but I do think we do need to be thinking on that time horizon, you know, it’s not just about the greenhouse gas emissions in 5, 10 years, but in 30 years, and how are we setting ourselves up for the future long-term?”
In addition to any carbon-reducing benefits, Lavin urged those who were looking to become more informed about the High-Speed Rail project to think of it as more than just a transportation undertaking.
“I think most Californians can barely afford rent, I think most Californians are worried about putting food on the table, most Californians are struggling. And I think an important part is the high-speed rail is going to help them,” Lavin said. “When we talk about job access … having a hard time affording rent, frankly speaking, the high-speed rail project is, in a sense, one of California’s biggest bit of affordable housing infrastructures going on.”
He urged listeners and supporters of the project who want to see it be completed sooner to call their local representatives, Gov. Newsom’s office, and any of the candidates for the upcoming California Senate election and urge them to support the project and advocate for additional federal funding.
Lipkin said support for the High-Speed Rail project has only grown since it was first approved by voters in 2008. In a recent poll by UC Berkeley, support for the project was about 20 percentage points higher than the percentage of people who were against it.
“I think California is pretty united in wanting to see this project happen,” Lipkin said, acknowledging that questions remain about how fast it can be completed. “The support is there, and we were very lucky to have that, because there’s no way to move something like this forward without very, very strong support. And we certainly have that across the board.”
The longer the project takes to complete, the more expensive it will become, experts say, and whether or not the project has the support of everyone in the state, it’s officially reached the “point of no return,” Lipkin said.
The California High-Speed Rail is coming, if not in five years, then a few years later. It’s up to its supporters to make an accelerated timeline a reality.
