After six and a half years leading Britain’s new HS2 high-speed railway line, its chief executive has stepped down from the project. The announcement came on Wednesday when Mark Thurston announced he will be leaving the organization in autumn. Under Mr. Thurston’s leadership, the company has employed 28,500 people across the country. The HS2 commended…
Alberta Considers New Commuter Rail Line Between Calgary and Edmonton
Alberta’s new Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors David Dreeshen will be considering a provincially-operated commuter rail service between Calgary and Edmonton. In a mandate letter issued July 11, Premier Danielle Smith said Mr. Dreeshen should examine the feasibility of creating a commuter rail service using the heavy rail tracks on the Canadian Pacific Rail…
High-Speed Rail Plans to Be Put on Track
Fast trains connecting Sydney to Newcastle and Melbourne to Brisbane could be more than a pipe dream under a plan announced by the federal government. A proposal to establish a high-speed rail authority tasked with starting the major, long-term infrastructure project was presented to parliament on Thursday. A high-speed national network would allow passengers to…
High-Speed Rail: Boondoggle of Boondoggles
Commentary When the $10 billion high-speed rail bond was on the ballot in 2008 and being pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of his environmentalist personal makeover, I made two predictions: 1. It really existed only to dole out billions to private contractors and construction-union members. 2. It never would get built, except possibly…
California High-Speed Rail Boondoggle Cost Soars to $105 Billion
Commentary I’ll give California’s high-speed rail project one thing. For 14 years, it’s given me something to write about as an example of government waste. From the beginning, when it was advanced as Proposition 1A in 2008, I have pointed out it existed only to spend billions, never to get near completion. The original cost…
Newsom Needs More Money for His Bullet Train to Nowhere
Commentary Governor Gavin Newsom’s bullet train project from Merced to Bakersfield makes so little sense that members of his own party are trying to put the brakes on it. Thus far about $9 billion has been spent with virtually nothing to show for it. In his recently proposed state budget, Newsom seeks another $4.2 billion,…
The Choo-Choo Boondoggle That Wouldn’t Die
Commentary It’s alive. The California High-Speed Rail boondoggle, that is. In explaining parts of his new budget proposal, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement on Jan. 13: “The California Blueprint includes a proposed $9.1 billion package to advance clean transit initiatives that support the state’s climate and public health goals, promote equity and bolster the…
‘Let’s Be Real’: High-Speed Freeway Lanes in California
Commentary Of all the bills I introduced while serving for six years in the California State Senate, the one that seemed to capture the Central Valley and national media’s attention the most was SB 319 in 2019. Customarily, a senator can only author twenty bills each year. My staff and I would have nearly 100…
Burbank-to-LA High-Speed Rail Environmental Report Released
LOS ANGELES—Touting the move as bringing high-speed train service a step closer to Los Angeles, the California High-Speed Rail Authority released a final environmental impact report Nov. 5 for a planned 14-mile stretch of the project between Burbank and Los Angeles. “While we advance construction in the Central Valley, we continue our march to environmentally…
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