The Empire Strkes Back

The Empire Strkes Back 07/12/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The LA Times’ story on the French National Railways, SNCF, presentation has stirred up a hornet’s nest of reaction. CHSRA apologist Robert Cruickshank’s site CAHSR blog carried a scathing condemnation of the LA Times story, along with the exclusive release of CHSRA Board Chair Richard’s letter to the LA Times editor. In response to the stunning levels of vitriol and bad faith, TRANSDEF posted these comments: After first responding to the SNCF story with a deer-in-the-headlights “No comment,” CHSRA is now in full damage control mode. The sheer number of slurs…

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SNCF Presentation Revealed!

SNCF Presentation Revealed! 07/12/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Now that the California High-Speed Rail Authority is doing everything possible to discredit and bury the story of the proposal by the French National Railways, SNCF, the time has come to show the world what all the hubbub is about. The SNCF Powerpoint addresses what SNCF saw as the key weakness of the CHSRA project–its insistence on building the initial system without private capital and without the direct involvement of a firm with HSR operating experience. The presentation suggests CHSRA use the structure of a Pre-Development Agreement to bring an experienced operator…

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Freelance Journalist Picks Up Secret HSR Story

Freelance Journalist Picks Up Secret HSR Story 07/11/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Check out this piece published yesterday on MarketUrbanism.com by Stephen Smith, freelance journalist, and see his comments at the end. What I learned today about SNCF and California HSR By Stephen Smith, on July 10th, 2012 If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know that I spent this afternoon on the phone with folks in California, looking into the recent SNCF-CHSRA bombshell. To summarize: SNCF, the highly experienced French national high-speed rail operator, apparently had a plan for California’s HSR network, but was turned off by the highly politicized routing. Namely, they wanted to make a straight shot from LA to San Francisco…

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CHSRA-Apologist Website Dumps on LA Times

CHSRA-Apologist Website Dumps on LA Times 07/10/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Robert Cruickshank, a leading (paid?) apologist for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, wrote a blog post trashing the LA Times SNCF story and its reporter, which generated hundreds of comments, including many suggesting that the I-5 route deserved a closer look. TRANSDEF posted this comment: Robert’s take-down of the messenger (LAT) misses the point entirely. SNCF presented a proposal in conjunction with a U.S. investment bank that was willing to finance the entire LA-SF line. This was a project that made enough business sense to them–it minimized costs while…

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LA Times Uncovers Secret HSR Story

LA Times Uncovers Secret HSR Story 07/09/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail TRANSDEF was the source for the story that ran in the LA Times today on the rejection of an offer two years ago by the French National Railways, SNCF, to build the system between LA and San Francisco. The California High-Speed Rail Authority turned them down flat, but kept the offer secret. Had the HSRA been operating in the public interest, it would now be under contract with an international HSR operator selected through an open bidding process, and be proceeding towards a fully funded LA-SF buildout (which, incidentally,…

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TRANSDEF Comments on HSR Passage

TRANSDEF Comments on HSR Passage 07/08/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail TRANSDEF’s David Schonbrunn was interviewed on the KPFA Evening News about the Legislature’s authorization of bond issuance for the 130-mile Central Valley High-Speed Rail project. Tags: Press

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Taxpayer Lawsuit Against HSRA Files New Complaint

Taxpayer Lawsuit Against HSRA Files New Complaint 07/06/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Attorney Michael Brady, representing plaintiffs John Tos, Aaron Fukuda, and Kings County, filed a lawsuit back in November 2011, asserting that no Proposition 1A funds could legally be spent on the proposed Central Valley project by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The Authority  struck back and asked the Court to dismiss the lawsuit in a motion called a Demurrer. After the Court sustained the Demurrer with leave to amend on June 22, Attorney Brady filed a Second Amended Complaint on July 6. Because the  State Senate was debating a funding measure for High-Speed Rail that afternoon, he brought with him one…

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CA Legislature: Know-Nothings Approve HSR Funding

CA Legislature: Know-Nothings Approve HSR Funding 07/06/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail Friday’s no-margin majority vote in the CA Senate to fund the $6 billion 130-mile HSR project in the Central Valley was marked by a stunning disconnect between  the majority that passed the budget measure and the members most informed about the project. The majority plugged their ears to the detailed  explanations of the measure’s flaws given by three courageous Democratic Senators and the Republicans. Facts didn’t matter. Senator Simitian of Palo Alto gave the speech of his life. Although a long-time supporter of the concept of High-Speed Rail for California, Simitian’s conclusion was: “This is the wrong plan, in the wrong place, and at…

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HSRA Approves Pacheco Yet Again

HSRA Approves Pacheco Yet Again 04/19/12 Filed in: High-Speed Rail On April 19, in accordance with writs issued by the Sacramento Superior Court in response to litigation by TRANSDEF and its allies, the CA High-Speed Rail Authority rescinded its previous certification of the 2010 Revised Final Program EIR for the Bay Area to Central Valley portion of its HST project, and rescinded its approval of the Pacheco route. After that action, the Board certified a Partially Revised Final Program EIR and adopted the Pacheco route. While the result was the same as its 2010 action, this time was different. Authority…

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