Oct. 2, 2008
The Los Angeles Times editorial board endorsed Proposition 1a , which would provide $9.95 billion in bonds to build a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco. "The measure isn't as big a risk as it would be if the state were footing the entire bill," the editorial board wrote. "The 'backbone' segment from Los Angeles to San Francisco is projected to cost $33 billion, with about 75% from federal and private sources."
Artist's rendering of a future San Jose station for the bullet train.
(California High-Speed Rail Authority)
Nov. 4, 2008
Voters approved Proposition 1a with the understanding that the project would be completed in 2020.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Jan. 1, 2010
Sen. Doug LaMalfa (R-California) introduced Senate Bill 22 to freeze spending on the rail line. It did not pass in the Legislature.
Nov. 1, 2011
The state's rail authority released a business plan showing the project will now cost three times more and take 13 years longer to complete than voters were told when they approved bonds to build the system in 2008.
The new plan would initially begin with a line from Fresno to Bakersfield and would blend bullet train service with the existing Metrolink network in Southern California and the Caltrain system in Northern California.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Nov. 3, 2011
California's bullet train agency formally requested a multibillion-dollar appropriation to start construction in 2012.
The board adopted a funding plan, which seeks to tap $3.3 billion in federal grants and $2.7 billion in state bonds to begin building an initial 140-mile segment of track through the Central Valley. That non-operational segment would run mostly through farmland from Chowchilla to Bakersfield.
(Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo)
Jan. 1, 2012
According to the new plan , construction on the new rail line would begin in 2012 with the controversial track in the Central Valley.
Its estimated completion date is 2017. Initial operation would begin in 2015 and would be opened to passenger service in 2022.
Jack Adams, a manager with Turner Construction Co., checks demolition work at the former Transbay Terminal in San Francisco, a planned hub for the state's proposed bullet train.
(Ken James / Bloomberg)
Jan. 1, 2021
Construction on the rail line from San Jose to the San Fernando Valley -- referred to in the plan as "Bay to Basin" -- would take place from 2021-2026; it's estimated to open in 2027.
Aerial photo view looking south toward downtown Los Angeles from the San Fernando Valley.
(Brian Vander Brug)
Jan. 1, 2033
The first phase of the project would be completed in 2033 and open in 2034. It was originally supposed to be completed in 2020.
In Japan, the Shinkansen bullet train began operating in 1997.
(AFP / Getty Images)
Jan. 1, 2040
By 2040, the net operating profit for the San Francisco-to-Anaheim line is projected to range between $2.3 billion and $3.7 billion annually, depending on ridership. That is despite sharply lower passenger projections in the new plan.
According to the new projections, the 520-mile line between San Francisco and Anaheim will carry between 29.6 million and 43.9 million passengers annually by 2040. A segment between San Jose and the San Fernando Valley is expected to handle between 16.1 million and 23.7 million passengers a year.
Passengers wait for the train at the Metrolink Station in Buena Park. The head of the High-Speed Rail Authority defended the agency's ridership predictions.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
