Sacramento, CA—Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani (D-Livingston) last week was able to successfully pilot the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century legislation out of the Assembly on a vote of 63-0.

Assembly Bill 3034 will update and improve the High-Speed Train Bond Act that will be considered by voters statewide this November. The bill, sponsored by the California High Speed Rail Authority, was developed in response to modifications suggested in the 2008-09 Proposed Governor’s Budget released in January.

“AB 3034 establishes additional fiscal controls on the expenditure of state bond funds to ensure that they are directed to construction activities in the most cost-effective and efficient way” stated Galgiani, “ in addition, it also allows the Altamont corridor to compete for bond and other available funding”.

The Authority staff has recommended the Pacheco Pass route as the preferred alternative route for the Central Valley to the Bay Area segment.  However, AB 3034 allows for complementary high-speed train improvements to the existing Altamont corridor.  Additionally, the route includes a station in the City of Merced and proposes a maintenance facility at Castle Air Force Base in Atwater.”

The Honorable Judge Quentin Kopp, long-time legislator and proponent of High-Speed Rail, was among the many that came and testified in the Assembly Transportation Committee about the significance of providing California with a viable interregional public transportation system. "The bi-partisan and unanimous support for these new taxpayer safeguards gives California’s proposed high-speed rail system a new burst of momentum”, stated Judge Kopp, “No better legacy exists for our Legislature and the Governor than leaving current and future generations with a 220 mph train system, reducing carbon emissions, meeting mandated air-quality goals and creating over a half-million new jobs, all without taxpayer-funded operating subsidies."

“This will be the largest transportation project California has seen since the Transcontinental Railroad was built 140 years ago.  If we don’t build a high-speed rail train, we will have to add 3,000 miles of highway and five airport runways in the state.  Additionally, construction of a high-speed rail will stimulate the economy as it translates to 300,000 job years in the construction industry” stated Galgiani.

Electrically propelled, high speed trains use less energy than cars and airplanes. High speed trains would dramatically reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming and will also reduce California’s dependence on foreign oil.  Additionally, with bullet trains operating at speeds up to 220 mph, the express travel time from downtown San Francisco to Los Angeles is just under 2 ½ hours.