SAVE ANGELES FOREST FOR EVERYONE
Fighting the High Speed Train Since 2014
S.A.F.E. was organized to stop the California High Speed Rail Authority from building train routes within the Palmdale to Burbank project section that damaged our local communities, the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Angeles National Forest. The so-called “East Corridor” includes routes that would travel approximately 41 miles over, under and through our communities and open space. Locally impacted communities include: Kagel Canyon, Lake View Terrace, Sunland-Tujunga, Shadow Hills, La Tuna Canyon and Sun Valley. Potential impacts, from both operational and construction phases, include damage to our community character, water resources, visual and aesthetics, noise and vibration, truck traffic and air quality, human and animal health, equestrian culture and industry and economy. We are working in unity with neighboring communities similarly impacted by high speed rail proposals including Pacoima, San Fernando, Santa Clarita, Acton and Agua Dulce.
Don’t Railroad Our Communities! Read all the facts and history of this project and get involved!
Rendering of Route E2 viewed from Shadow Hills
THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT COMMENT PERIOD HAS ENDED
What's next: CHSRA is reviewing comments and preparing responses to issues raised in submissions. Estimated date of their response is December 2023
Click here for SAFE's 156-page Comment Letter
Click here for Meehan-Hamilton Comment Letter/Report on Seismic Issues
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For more info, including accessing the DEIR documents go to www.hsr.ca.gov or https://meethsrsocal.org/p-b/ Be sure to hit "next"
Brief Overview of the Project. The California High-Speed Rail Authority was formed in September 1996. However, it did not gain any traction until 2008, when California voters narrowly approved Proposition 1A allowing the state to issue $9.95 billion in bonds to the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
What we voted for:
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A 220-mph high-speed train
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With a 520-mile route connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles
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With a budget of $45 billion
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With the requirement that $9 billion of the $9.95 billion bonds be matched by public and private funds.
What we got (13 years later):
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A “not high-speed” train that will have to share miles of blended tracks at speeds ranging from 40 mph to 80 mph
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With a scaled-back initial operating segment of 171 miles connecting Merced to Bakersfield
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With a budget of $99.9 billion
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With NO private funds secured, plus an $80-billion funding gap that needs to be filled to actually build out the full line
From 2014 to present, scathing audit reports have been issued, scandals have rocked the project (including a defective bridge which had to be demolished shortly after construction), massive budget overruns, high management turnover, a state legislature demanding accountability, and purchase and/or seizure of generational family-owned properties (including farms, orchards, and ranches) which later were deemed not to be needed after all—many of which were not paid fair market value for their property.
The Latest
Refined SR14 is the Preferred Alternative but can change if conditions warrant
* May 2023: Orange County Register: The cost of high-speed rail in California might surprise you
* 03-16-23: Citwatch LA: Would you vote for $100 billion in bonds for high speed rail?
* 03-07-23: CalMatters: New cost estimate for high-speed rail puts California bullet train $100 billion in the red
* Read the Burbank Airport Authority v. California High Speed Rail lawsuit here
* 2022 Business Plan
* Burbank to Los Angeles Project Section
Burbank will lose 75% of its local water supply for an extended period of time and over 130 businesses, and the brand-new Avion development near the airport will have to be demolished at a cost of nearly $1 billion.
Burbank Area Potential Property Impacts Map Large file – Enlarge to 100% to see property and street names.
Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement – Burbank to LA Project Section
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* Burbank Airport Authority Files Lawsuit Against CHSRA - LA Times 2-25-22
