Opinion: California needs high-speed rail, just not the system it’s building

To the editor: Thousands of travelers fly daily between Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area. They clog the freeways to get to the few airports available, ride in cramped seats inside a polluting and inefficient flying machine, and arrive at their final destination about four hours from the time they left home. (“California’s bullet train isn’t just fast transit, it’s a way to bridge the divide between rich and poor,” Opinion, Sept. 19)

For trips less than 500 miles, this mode of transportation will be economically unsustainable in the future. Japan, China and much of Europe have already built high-speed rail systems to address these issues. Japan has had a highly successful bullet-train system for more than 50 years.

Despite advice from railroad experts, the California High-Speed Rail Authority chose a route that will never meet the sub-two-hour time mandated by voters. California has two major north-south rail routes and much of Interstate 5 that could be used as the basis of a more direct line.

If the airlines and freight railroads participate financially, we could have a cost-efficient system. Airlines would eliminate flights in favor of train trips on their mutually owned rail systems. The economic value to the San Joaquin Valley would be enormous.

Dennis Arntz, Laguna Niguel

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To the editor: In geometry, we learned that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

If you go from L.A. to San Francisco, nobody drives through Fresno. That tells you why the politicians turned a good idea, a high-speed train, into a lobbyist’s dream and a taxpayer nightmare.

Californians have chosen cars over trains time after time. If you can’t fill local commuter trains, high-speed rail has no chance. Our system will die a slow death as operating losses mount and planned ridership never materializes.

Robert Bubnovich, Irvine

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To the editor: It used to be that America led the world, but with the bullet train we’re following other countries in steel-on-steel high-speed rail, an old technology.

Would it not be ironic if, when the bullet train is finally ready, over schedule and over cost, Elon Musk’s hyperloop could perform the same function at three times the speed and a lower cost?

Richard Jackson, Arroyo Grande

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