California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an ambitious plan to connect all of the state with a zero-emissions rail network.
According to ABC10 in San Diego, the plan's backbone is the California High-Speed Rail project, which will connect San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego via 200 mph trains. But it won't stop there.
The plan is to connect every part of the state via rail over the next 30 years, giving as many Californians as possible access to affordable, emissions-free transportation.
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"California is building a clean transportation system for the future," Newsom said in a statement. "Our vision is simple: by 2050, every Californian should be able to choose rail as a way to get to their destination, near or far."
Rail travel currently accounts for just 2% of all miles traveled in the state. The new plan hopes to increase that number to 20% or more.
The project won't be cheap. According to ABC10, the budget is $300 billion, but the return on investment is projected to be over $540 billion, and the construction and management of the rail lines will generate 900,000 jobs.
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"Critically, this plan pushed beyond the status quo, improving multimodal options, clean air, and equitable access to jobs and other opportunities," California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said.
The environmental benefits of high-speed rail travel have made it a popular, booming option for new transit projects worldwide. Germany and France have announced a high-speed line connecting Berlin and Paris. China has already installed thousands of kilometers of high-speed rail lines and plans to build more in the next five years. And England's high-speed rail project is inching closer to completion after a bridge was built to help support the new lines.
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