RAIL STUDIES BEGIN SOON.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - State officials have hired consultants to conduct environmental studies for a $25 billion high-speed rail High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions include 200-320 km/h (125-200 mph) - depending on whether the track is upgraded or new - by the European Union and above 90 mph system, including evaluations of the Palmdale and Grapevine Pass alignments between Bakersfield and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The awarding of three contracts - together worth up to $12 million over three years - signals the official start of the process to build a high-speed rail system that will whisk passengers between Northern and Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, as fast as 200 mph. ``Our goal is to determine an appropriate statewide strategy that addresses each region's needs and integrates with their long-range land-use and transportation plans,'' said Mehdi Morshed, executive director of the California High-Speed Rail The California High-Speed Rail project is a proposed high-speed rail system in the state of California. The system is being planned by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which will design, build, and operate the system. Authority. P and D Consultants/DMJM of Orange will receive up to $4 million to study the environmental impacts of the Palmdale and Grapevine Pass alignments for the rail system, which is expected to run between San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. and Sacramento, with a branch to the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay . Two other contracts - one to study the leg from the Bay Area to Sacramento and the other to study the Northern California to Bakersfield portion of the system - were also awarded to Parsons Transportation Group of San Francisco and to Frederic R. Harris of Long Beach. A contract for a study of the Los Angeles-to-San Diego portion of the system, via the Inland Empire, will be awarded later this year. The studies are expected to take three years to complete. There is debate over which route between Bakersfield and Los Angeles would be the most effective. Rail Authority staffers have argued a route over the Grapevine Pass would be shorter and, therefore, cheaper to build and operate. Antelope Valley officials, backed by colleagues in the city of Los Angeles
Antelope Valley officials argue that a Grapevine Pass route would require tunneling and more mitigation to ease environmental concerns. Antelope Valley officials also argue that the state would benefit more from the development and job production that a Palmdale alignment would generate. |
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