Frommer seizes on canceled flight to push high-speed rail
Dario Frommer, chairman of the California Transportation Commission, used his canceled flight from Bob Hope Airport to Sacramento today to highlight the need for high-speed rail.
As lawmakers review the latest business plan for the rail project today, Frommer, former assemblyman for the 43rd District, issued a statement bemoaning his inability to be there in person after he said his flight was canceled due to fog.
“If California already had high-speed rail built, I could have simply jumped on the train,” he said in a statement.
Under the draft business plan released today, Californians would pay $60-80 for a one-way ticket from L.A. to San Francisco, according to his office.
“That’s a bargain compared to the $200 one-way ticket many of us are paying to fly the same route,” Frommer said.
But the projected cost for building the high-speed rail line over the next 22 years has nearly doubled to $98.5 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times, a figure that will likely be closely scrutinized when the business plan is reviewed.
Still, citing job creation and reduced carbon emmissions, Frommer said, “California can’t afford to not build high-speed rail.”
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-- Jason Wells, Times Community News
Twitter: @JasonBretWells
Photo: Former 43rd District Assemblyman Dario Frommer, who now serves as chairman of the California Transportation Commission. Credit: File photo.