Governor signs law to make California home to nation's first truly high-speed rail

Source: CNN

California is poised to become home to the nation's first truly high-speed rail system with Gov. Jerry Brown's signing Wednesday of a law authorizing the first leg of construction for a line that will eventually connect Los Angeles and San Francisco.

California will issue $2.6 billion in bonds, with the federal government providing an additional $3.2 billion, to build the initial segment of the high-speed rail between Merced and the San Fernando Valley on the north side of Los Angeles, officials said.

The high-speed rail project was part of a transportation bill signed by Brown that calls for general improvements to the state's rail system involving a total of $4.7 billion in state funding matched with $7.9 billion in federal and local funds, officials said.

"This legislation will help put thousands of people in California back to work," Brown said at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, according to a news release. "By improving regional transportation systems, we are investing in the future of our state and making California a better place to live and work."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/18/us/california-high-speed-rail/index.html

---

However, even a few (D) state senators voted against HSR, and my local paper (whose editorial board is far from right wing) called the HSR project a "high-spending folly".