It’s been an on-again, off-again measure on the state ballot, but backers of a high speed rail project in California say this November voters will decide once and for all whether to approve billions in bond funds. The high speed train proposed for California could run at speeds of over 200 miles per hour and would eventually go from San Diego to San Francisco. The bond to help fund it had been scheduled to appear on two previous ballots—in 2004 and 2006.  Although the vote has been delayed in part over concerns about the state’s fiscal condition, members of the California High Speed Rail Authority say this is the year.

David Crane, an advisor to the Governor and Authority board member, says the majority of funding - almost ten billion dollars—will come from the state bond if approved. “The balance will come from the federal government and the private sector and the local sector—in many segments there’s a lot of local activity,” says Crane. But the bond also has its critics. Legislation introduced in the state Assembly addresses some concerns raised by Governor Schwarzenegger.  The Governor would require that areas whose rail segments need the smallest amount of bond funds be given priority. Others question whether the train will really attract enough riders to sustain it. Over the next several months, supporters will form a committee to run the campaign.  They say if approved, the project would be on-line by the year 2020.