California is officially on track for high speed rail.
By a narrow margin, voters approved Proposition One-A. It provides roughly ten-billion dollars for work to begin on a statewide bullet train system.
Greg Larson is with the Yes on One-A Campaign. He says the idea resonated with people at the polls.
Larson: Voters throughout California have told us they recognize the need for California to do something about congestion, about air pollution, about dependence on oil and they saw high speed rail as the real solution that it is.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also supported the measure.
Opponents included the California Chamber of Commerce and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. They argued the high speed rail plans were far too optimistic about the potential ridership and the final costs.
The statewide rail system would cost an estimated 40-billion dollars. Much of that money is expected to come from private investors and federal matching funds. Eventually, the train would connect Southern and Northern California.
