SACRAMENTO — Today, Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) announced a bill to electrify California’s commuter rail system, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut Southern California commute times in half by January 2028.
Funding for the electrification will be redirected from the California High-Speed Rail Project, which is billions over budget, years behind schedule and unlikely to deliver a viable route from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
“California deserves immediate solutions, not baby steps,” said Lackey. “This Republican New Deal is a common sense solution to get cars off the road without spending new taxpayer dollars. High-Speed Rail is a disaster – it’s time to put that money towards projects that will actually do some good..”
AB 1848 will provide $4 billion to the Southern California Regional Rail Authority to fund improvements to the Metrolink commuter rail system along the following corridors:
- The Palmdale to the Los Angeles Union Station, via Santa Clarita and Newhall
- The Riverside to the Los Angeles Union Station, via Corona, Fullerton, and Buena Park
- The Oceanside to the Los Angeles Union Station, via Irvine
Assemblyman Lackey proudly represents the 36th Assembly District, which contains portions of Kern, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties, including the communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, Santa Clarita, Quartz Hill, Acton, Boron, Littlerock, Pearblossom, Mojave, Rosamond, California City, Phelan and Piñon Hills.
2 comments
DOA because it has a partisan name in it. The supermajority will never even give it a second look, or even a first.
It’s actually a brilliant idea. By diverting all the money away from the HSR project and toward commuter rail he might ensure that California will never have a modern rail transportation system.
And since we’ll have to repay the Feds the grant money for the project, plus the cost of unwinding the project, lawsuits for breach of contract, etc., that should eat up far more than the $4 billion allocated. With any luck his proposal to “get cars off the road” will suck up enough of the budget to kill some existing services and force passengers to drive their personal cars long distances in heavy traffic jams.
Kill rail and force people to obey their mandates. A win-win for the farthest right.
Comments are closed.