California Approves Bullet Train

Lost in all the excitement of last Tuesday's historic presidential election, and of high-profile ballot measures such as California's ban on same-sex marriage, was a major victory for advocates of high-speed rail networks.

On November 4, California voters passed Proposition 1A, named the "Safe, Reliable High Speed Passenger Train Bond Act." The measure approved an initial investment of almost $10 billion in bond money for an electric train route that will stretch from San Francisco down to San Diego, with stops in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Clean transportation advocates are calling the vote "a clear affirmation of high-speed trains" and saying that better public transportation was "critical to solving global warming and creating real energy independence," as ENS reports. Once completed, the state estimates that a trip from L.A. to San Francisco will take two and a half hours and cost $55. More about the plans for the new train here. [via AutoblogGreen]

Click here to listen to our segment back in September on efforts to bring high-speed rail to the United States.