A Bullet Train Path has been Picked From Palmdale to Burbank

The LA Times recently reported. The California High Speed Rail will cut through Sun Valley, San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Agua Dulce, the state rail authority proposed yesterday. The 40 mile route mostly follows Hwy 14 via tunnels. It is supposed to be the least expensive route to Burbank. It looks that the route could affect homes, businesses, an airport and a hospital. A big factor and problem is the passage under the San Gabriel and Tehachapi Mountains. That cost is estimated to be $26 to $45 billion just for that? That will include a 7 mile tunnel, but if you going six hundred miles per hour you’ll hardly notice it. According to the LA Times, The Santa Clarita City Council had told the rail authority it would oppose any route that was not fully underground. “Anything above ground takes out homes, schools and churches,” she said. “That is not going to happen.” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti supports the rail project. The mayors office prefers using the current Metrolink commuter rail right of way from Burbank to Palmdale which was built in 1870. The Bay Area plan is to use the right of way along the CalTrain from Gilroy to San Francisco, but the State said no. A draft environmental report is due in 2019 with a final in 2020. The rail authority’s plan says the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco system would be completed by 2033, but there are no funds to build the LA portion. The projected costs hit $77 billion this year, more than double the original estimate, and its completion date is now more than a decade delayed.