EDITORIAL : BITING THE BULLET TRAIN A HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINE CONNECTING NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IS A TOUGH SELL FOR TAXPAYERS.

STICKER shock syndrome has hit California.

Example: The California Intercity High-Speed Rail Commission spent several years studying the feasibility of building a bullet train connecting Northern and Southern California.

Now the realists come along (the day after Christmas, mind you). State Sen. Quentin Kopp, I-South San Francisco, and the author of the bill creating the commission, said that a plan to build a train that could streak from San Diego to San Francisco at speeds of 220 mph is feasible from a technical standpoint. But even Kopp had doubts that the taxpayers would want to spend $20 billion for the privilege of riding one.

(All told, the taxpayers shelled out $5 million for the commission's study. Roughly the same amount was spent by the state earlier on a similar inquiry.)

The problem here is that demand for high-speed trains, notwithstanding their popularity in Western Europe and Japan, simply doesn't appear to be there. That's because most travelers have other options - driving comfortable, reliable cars along mostly uncrowded freeways or taking a reasonably priced flight on an airline.

According to the report, the system could be funded one of three ways: with a quarter-cent statewide retail sales tax increase, a retail sales tax levied only on the counties served by the rail link or a 6 cents-per-gallon motor vehicle fuel tax hike. California voters would have to pass any of the options, each of which would be in effect for 30 years.

For starters, Californians don't seem to be widely enthusiastic about increasing sales taxes. And after last spring's brief panic over $1.50-a-gallon gas prices and proposed national legislation to bring prices down by ending the national gas tax, it's also unlikely that voters are in a mood to pay more for gasoline.

In addition to voter resistance, opposition to big public expenditures for high-speed rail also is expected from the trucking and airline industries.

With the current California gas tax, truckers are paying a minimum of about 10 cents per gallon more for fuel than in most states, says Jay Van Rein, spokesman for the California Trucking Association. Increasing California's competitive disadvantage is not in the cards.

An even more vocal opponent will be the airline industry, especially low-fare leader Southwest Airlines. That company was one of the most strident foes of a Texas high-speed rail proposition that went nowhere.

Southwest Airlines already has raised an interesting point. ``For $18 billion to $20 billion, the state of California could give Southwest Airlines half that amount and we could fly everyone in the state for free,'' said Southwest spokeswoman Linda Rutherford.

So what to do with the $10 million worth of studies? We recommend passing them on to the private sector and seeing whether they can make a go of it with few if any government subsidies.