An amazing £100bn train line is set to connect two of the world’s most famous cities in a trip that can be made in just hours.
California’s High-Speed Rail Authority is building the state’s first electrified high-speed rail system with the aim of connecting the state’s major urban areas and reducing intercity travel times.
The first part of the project will see a line running from San Fransisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim via Central Valley. Phase 1 will see it travel across the two popular cities in under three hours at a speed of 200 miles per hour.
The idea of the rail system was first proposed 45 years ago by Governor Jerry Brown, and three years later, in 1982, he signed a bill which authorised $1.25 billion (around £985 million) in bonds for a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Phase 1 of the planned route stretches around 494 miles from San Francisco and will have 11 intermediate stops, including Millbrae, San Jose and Gilroy, before reaching Los Angeles.
Plans for an additional station are being considered, which would be between Los Angeles and Anaheim at Norwalk or Fullerton.
The total cost for Phase 1 of the project is expected to possibly reach up to a whopping $128 billion (£100 billion).
In a report by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, they shared the necessity of the new system, stating that California’s high population of 40 million people is “straining” the state’s transport network.
It added that to manage the transport crisis, California would need to build 4,200 miles of new highway roads, two new airport runways and 91 more airport gates to carry the same amount of people that the new rail line would, but it would cost twice as much.
The plan is meant to not only help more people get around easily but also do it in a sustainable manner.
The system will be powered completely by renewable energy as part of California’s carbon neutrality goals. Margaret Cederoth, Authority Director of Planning and Sustainability, said: “Realising California’s core goal of carbon neutrality is why we are building this state-of-the-art, resilient high-speed rail system.
“This report illustrates how investment in cleaner construction practices and disadvantaged communities today delivers meaningful economic, social, and environmental benefits now and paves the way for the greatest long-term benefits: a clean and profoundly more connected California with the nation’s first 220-mph electrified high-speed rail system powered by 100% renewable energy as a centerpiece.”
There is no current date for when it is expected to be completed, however officials estimate that the line 171 mile line from Merced to Bakersfield in the Central Valley will finish between 2030 and 2033.