L.A.’s bullet train plan steals Valley’s money and pollutes the region’s air

Assemblymember Susan Eggman (D-Stockton) recently wrote a joint op-ed with Speaker of the State Assembly Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) endorsing Los Angeles’ plan to cut millions of dollars from High Speed Rail and instead give the money to the MetroLink commuter rail line. L.A. is preparing for the 2028 Summer Olympics and wants its public transit system to be new and shiny for the television cameras. As usual, officials there want to raid our piggy bank to pay for it.

I have a duty as an elected official serving the Valley to advocate for what is best for my district and my constituents. While there have been more problems with High Speed Rail than I can count, the solution to those problem is not to cut funding from the Valley to benefit L.A.

I represent a region with the highest childhood asthma rate in the nation. L.A.’s plan would eliminate funding to electrify High Speed Rail in the Valley, guaranteeing we will see additional polluting diesel trains instead of clean and zero-emission electric trains. That change alone would cut $4.8 billion from the Valley. I also represent a region where nearly 20% of families live in poverty and unemployment is regularly in the double digits.

Cutting electrification of High Speed Rail also means that new maintenance and operations facilities would no longer be needed, eliminating an additional $1.6 billion in economic activity and hundreds of permanent, blue-collar jobs in the Valley.

The former leader of the state Senate, Kevin de León, once questioned why the state was spending billions of dollars on rail in the Valley rather than L.A. He told the Los Angeles Times our Valley is “the middle of nowhere” where there is nothing but “tumbleweeds.” Recently, Steve Lopez wrote a column for the Times titled “Let’s shift stalled bullet train funds to L.A. and San Francisco, where they’ll do some good.” The Times’ position is that investing in the Valley does no good and the only places worth investing are the Bay Area and L.A.

They’re wrong.

Earlier this year, elected officials from across the Valley condemned Caltrans for proposing to cut about $65 million from Highway 99 improvement projects. City council members, school superintendents, mayors, county supervisors, and state legislators from Bakersfield to Stockton asked Gov. Newsom to put a stop to what many called a bait and switch funding plan. The loss of $65 million to improve Highway 99 would have a ripple effect throughout the Valley that none of us could live with. If we were willing to fight to keep $65 million, where is our fight to keep $5 billion?

There are many in the Valley who believe the plug should have been pulled on High Speed Rail a long time ago. Those who agree with that perspective should understand that L.A.’s plan does not achieve their goal. It simply sends the money to L.A. instead of investing in the Valley.

For those of thinking about walking away from High Speed Rail, what other transportation projects should get the funding? Should we finally expand Highway 99 to three and four lanes? Should we create dedicated freight corridors so semi trucks and passenger vehicles can travel on separate roads? Should we fix the problems at High Speed Rail and just get the project done?

I am introducing legislation this year to prohibit the High Speed Rail Authority from spending a penny to purchase or operate diesel trains. Legislators from the Bay Area and L.A. who often tout their clean air and environmental justice credentials need to explain why they want to reward themselves with $7,000 in taxpayer money for purchasing a Tesla, while also proposing to convert a zero-emission transportation project in the Valley into a diesel project instead. My bill will give them that opportunity.

There are plenty of good ways to spend this money, but all of us can agree that the wrong way is to take this multi-billion dollar investment meant for the Valley and give it to L.A. instead.