California’s long-awaited, long-debated high-speed rail (HSR) received confirmation to begin construction on Monday when the state Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a lawsuit blocking the project. A second part of the suit still must be argued before a Sacramento County judge.
The lawsuit was brought against the California High-Speed Rail Authority by Kings County and landowners in the Central Valley, who claimed that the project was not being carried out as it was described in the ballot measure approved by voters in 2008. Proposition 1A stated the CHSRA would identify funding sources for the first segment of the rail line—which will eventually run 130 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles—and obtain all proper environmental clearances before starting construction.
The original case was heard in Sacramento County Superior Court in 2013, with the judge ruling in favor of the plaintiffs. In their arguments, the plaintiffs said the state only identified $6 billion of the $26 billion needed for the first HSR portion and that not all environmental approvals were obtained. The decision halted the sale of $8.6 billion in voter-approved bonds, but the 3rd District Court of Appeal overturned the ruling in July 2014.
CHSRA will continue demolition and construction testing that was ongoing while the case was being heard. A second portion of the lawsuit remains to be tried, however, related to the veracity of CHSRA’s claim that trains will be able to travel the full line in 2 hours and 40 minutes as promised.
