Gov. Brown signs California high-speed rail bill

California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday authorizing $5.8 billion to start building a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to the San Francisco area. David Siders of The Sacramento Bee reported that the initial sum is made up of $2.6 billion in state rail bond funds and $3.2 billion in federal aid. The American Public Transportation Association, hailing the signing, cited slightly different figures—$2.7 billion in bond funds and $3.3 billion from the US Department of Transportation. The Mercury News in San Jose said another $2 million in state bond funds "will beef up transit while laying the groundwork for high-speed rail in the Bay Area and Southern California, including electrification of the existing Caltrain line between San Francisco and San Jose." The latter expenditure helped secure political support in the state's most densely populated areas. Construction of the high-speed line, estimated to cost $68 billion in all, will start with a 130-mile segment in the Central Valley, where farmers and other groups are suing to block the project.

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