County Added to State’s High-Speed Rail Map

Transportation planners are recommending that a statewide, high-speed rail system pass through Orange County, a move that urban planners say should be part of a multifaceted effort to fight regional traffic congestion.

“Right now, the state of California is growing rapidly,” said Dan Leavitt, deputy director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. “Already, the highways and airports are heavily congested. High-speed rail gives us a tremendous opportunity . . . to move people quickly, safely, conveniently and in an environmentally friendly way between our cities.”

The proposed system, expected to cost $23 billion to $30 billion, would connect the Bay Area to Southern California.

The original proposal bypassed Orange County, running instead from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles through Riverside County to San Diego. The authority is now looking at a route that would stop in Norwalk, Anaheim and Irvine on its way to San Diego, Leavitt said.

The trains, which would travel as fast as 200 mph elsewhere, would slow to 90 to 125 mph through Orange County.

The authority will select a final route in July, then develop financing and phasing plans by mid-September, he said. The proposed system would link 90% of the state’s population and could be in place at the earliest by 2010.

Though the high-speed rail was intended primarily for long-distance commuters between the Bay Area and Southern California, Leavitt said, local commuters also could take advantage of it. A 24-minute trip between Anaheim and Union Station would likely cost between $5 and $10, he said.

Ticket prices for longer rides would cost significantly less than comparable air fare, Leavitt said. For example, a one-way ticket from Union Station to San Francisco would cost about $40.