ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Really, It Should Be the End of the Line

The California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission was born in the Deukmejian Administration amid high hopes that private enterprise, in a time of dwindling public resources, could build a rail connection between the resorts of Las Vegas and Anaheim. But the passage of time and the recession have proved the dream of privatization for the rail line to be flawed. It just hasn’t worked out.

In a gesture of realism appropriate to the changed economic climate, Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed a measure two months ago that would have extended the life of the commission for a year. That was the right call then and it should be so again, now that some commission members are refusing to accept the prognosis. Convinced that the project is both feasible and desirable, they are trying to extend the life of the commission against the odds. The governor should stick to his previous decision and not waver. He should hold fast even though the cities involved, and not the state, would pick up the tab for extending the life of the commission.

At the time he issued his veto, Wilson cited two sound reasons for rejecting the commission’s bid for a new life. First, Bechtel Corp., which had obtained a conditional franchise to build a maglev high-speed train using German technology, ran headlong into recession-related problems getting financing for the $5-billion effort. And second, the governor was appropriately troubled by the limited constituency for such a train, which had been dubbed “the gambler’s special.”

Those objections still apply, despite the renewed enthusiasm among high-speed train advocates because of the Disney Co.’s recent decision to build its second Southern California theme park in Anaheim. The new park is good news, and proponents can’t be faulted for envisioning a bonanza for two cities that thrive on encouraging tourism. Rail seems to them a natural catalyst, and they are talking again about requesting new proposals from private companies.

But an additional wrinkle nowadays is that the original dream of a private-only venture is out of the question in the current economic environment. Sooner or later, the infusion of public funds would be needed. And that means that some other rail project, which might more clearly benefit a larger segment of the population, would find itself in competition with the high-speed train for any available public subsidy.

The history of railroads in this country is, in part, the history of public bailouts of private ventures. Make no mistake, once the public gets drawn into the financing, there will be no turning back.