First Link of Calif.'s High-Speed Rail Could Cost Nearly $14B

The projected cost of California’s bullet train project is rising by billions of dollars.

Environmental impact studies released Tuesday put the price tag of the first segment of the high-speed rail project — connecting Merced and Bakersfield — at $10 billion to $13.9 billion.

That compares to an initial estimate of $7.1 billion from 2009 for the Merced-to-Bakersfield section, according to the Associated Press.

The higher costs reflect more elevated tracks in the Central Valley and more specific data about property values, the Associated Press reported.

Construction on the Central Valley segment is expected to start in 2012.

The San Francisco-to-San Jose segment is still in the planning phase.

Critics of the bullet train plan say the project may become significantly more expensive at a time when the economy is weak.

The entire project is estimated to cost $43 billion. The California High-Speed Rail Authority has secured $6.3 billion so far of federal and state taxpayer money.

In addition to tax money, the project will be funded through private investment, rail authority officials said.

Supporters say the planned 800-mile route between San Francisco and southern California will create thousands of jobs and will be cheaper in the long run than adding freeways. It will also have environmental benefits, they said, by taking hundreds of thousands of vehicles off highways.

Riders of the system, planners said, will be able to travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2011/08/09/california-high-speed-bullet-cost-jump.html

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