Last November, Proposition 1A passed, paving the way for the state to issue $10 billion worth of bonds to create a European/Japanese-style high speed rail system for California. Okay. What now? Some good news for its supporters: passage of the bill put California on the top of the list to receive monies from the Federal stimulus package, which contains $8 billion for high speed rail projects. Bad news: residents of Palo Alto are fuming about plans to widen an existing commuter rail corridor to accommodate the bullet trains. Still, detailed planning continues and trains could start zooming at 220 mph up the Central Valley as early as 2015.
