High Speed Rail - A Fast Track to Recovery

In 2008, I authored Assembly Bill 3034, which placed Proposition 1A, the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train bond Act, on the ballot, and secured $9 billion dollars in bond finding for the project.

In January, California received $2.25 billion dollars in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding - nearly twice as much as any other State.  Now California has a total of $11.25 billion dollars available for the entire $42.6 billion dollar project.  This means we have secured 26% of the total funding required for the nation's largest infrastructure project.

Four corridors along the entire 800 mile system qualified for "Track 2" federal stimulus funding: Los Angeles to Anaheim, Merced to Fresno, Fresno to Bakersfield, and San Francisco to San Jose.  Each of these corridors can be operational as individual segments, and are at various stages of the project level environmental review and preliminary engineering development.  Track 2 ARRA grants provide 100% federal funding for preliminary engineering, project level environmental work, mitigation, final design and construction.  Federal guidelines require that environmental work along these corridors be complete by September 2011.  Construction must start by 2012, and be completed by September 30, 2017.

High-speed rail provides a much needed "jobs package" to put people to work immediately, and put the economy on a fast-track to recovery.  There will be many subcontracting opportunities for EUCA members, as most of the contracts will be Design Build.

For every $1 billion spent on infrastructure projects, construction-related jobs are created for 20,000 Californians.  California's $2,25 billion in federal stimulus funds, along with our dollar-for-dollar match from the High-Speed Rail Bond, will create 90,000 desperately needed jobs for working families.

High-speed rail will provide jobs in all building trades including: electrical, mechanical, structural, civil, bridge, and safety engineers, carpenters, masons and stoneworkers, tiles and cement layers, bridge and iron workers, sheet metal workers, laborers, drivers, earthmovers, plumbers, landscapers, and painters.  Now the race begins for securing California's share of the additional $2.5 billion dollars already allocated in the 2010 federal budget.  CA is at the front of the line for a number of reasons.

1. Passage of High-Speed Rail Bond Measure - California was the first state in the nation to have passed a high-speed rail bond measure, Proposition 1A, which demonstrates the public's commitment of funding the train.
2. Dollar-for-Dollar Match - California is the only state prepared to provide a dollar-for-dollar match of federal stimulus funds.  This gives the federal government the opportunity to double its money to build the nation's first high-speed train.
3. World-Class High Speeds of 220mph - California's high-speed train system is the only nation-wide project offering world-class high speeds of 22 miles per hour.  These high speeds are necessary in order to provide passenger service which is competitive with airline service, so the system can be profitable.
4. FRA Approval - California is the only state in the nation which has a plan already approved by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in July, 2008.
5. Memorandums of Understanding with other Countries - California is the only state in the nation to have entered into "Memorandums of Understanding" with other countries which have a proven track record of building and operating successful, profitable, high-speed train systems - Spain, France, Japan, Germany, Italy, China, and most recently, Korea.  These countries have been sharing their expertise and experience with the HSR Authority in establishing safety guidelines, and utilizing the most advanced high-speed rail equipment.

I look forward to partnering with you to lobby representatives in Washington DC, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Department of Transportation, and our representatives in the House and Senate, for additional funding for California's HSR system.  Together we can put California's economy on a fast track to recovery.

Elected to the Assembly in 2006, Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani represents the 17th District, which reaches from Stockton to Los Banos and Tracy to Merced.

As a 5th generation Stocktonian, Cathleen has lived and worked in the San Joaquin Valley all of her life.  While working in public service, she has been involved in a wide range of issues including protecting agriculture, cleaning up the air in the Central Valley, cutting government waste and fraud and fighting for Cal-Grant expansions so that more kids can go to college.

Assemblywoman Galgiani currently represents the San Joaquin Valley in the Legislative Committee on Agriculture, Higher Education, Governmental Organization and Transportation Committees.  She is also a member of the Child Abuse Prevention Council Auxiliary of San Joaquin County, an advisory member of Crime Victims United of California and a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, High-Speed Rail Committee of Merced and the Board of Directors of San Joaquin A+.