Steve Lopez: Should California bite the bullet on high-speed rail?
If and when California’s high-speed train is built, how fast would it have to go, and how much cheaper would a ticket have to cost, for you to give up flying?
I went to Union Station this week, as well as the Burbank airport, to ask travelers those very questions. And I’d like to hear from you too.
But let me set things up first.
Every time I consider booking a flight from Burbank to Oakland, I think about whether I’d prefer to drive instead. Usually, I go with the one-hour flight, and if there are no delays, I’m always grateful I didn’t make the six-hour drive up Interstate 5. But if traffic to the airport is rough, security is a headache and the flight is delayed, I sometimes end up wishing I’d driven.
How nice it would be to have a third option.
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-- Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times
Image: An artist’s rendering of a proposed California high speed rail station is shown. Credit: California High-Speed Rail Authority