Calif. Gov. signs high-speed rail bill, calls out critics

In 2013, construction of the initial segment of high-speed rail, linking Merced to the San Fernando Valley, will create 100,000 job-years of employment over the next five years, the equivalent of 20,000 full-time jobs annually.

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July 19, 2012

Calif. Gov. signs high-speed rail bill, calls out critics — Governor Brown signed SB 1029 at the historic Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, the site of one of the many regional systems receiving funding through this legislation. The Governor also appeared later in the day in downtown San Francisco at the future site of the Transbay Transit Center. Both of these stations will serve as major hubs of the future high-speed rail line. Photo courtesy of Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.

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Governor Brown signed SB 1029 at the historic Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, the site of one of the many regional systems receiving funding through this legislation. The Governor also appeared later in the day in downtown San Francisco at the future site of the Transbay Transit Center. Both of these stations will serve as major hubs of the future high-speed rail line. Photo courtesy of Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.

SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Wednesday signed SB 1029, the $8 billion bill to begin construction of the state’s future high-speed rail line. In 2013, construction of the initial segment of high-speed rail, linking Merced to the San Fernando Valley, will create 100,000 job-years of employment over the next five years, the equivalent of 20,000 full-time jobs annually.

Calling naysayers "NIMBYs," "fearful men" and "declinists,'' the governor celebrated a project that he first signed a bill to study 30 years ago, reported the San Jose Mercury News.

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Topics:California high-speed rail high-speed rail U.S. governors Rail

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