High-Speed Train to Cut Through City of 19,953 Residents

In the small Californian town of Shafter near Bakersfield, a planned high-speed train project is causing great discontent. Residents and business people are horrified that the route will run through the middle of the city center. A nine-meter-high route was originally agreed for 2018 in order to limit the impact on the city. This is reported by the “New York Post”.

However, in October, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), the Californian railway authority, changed the plan and decided to use a ground-level route with several pedestrian bridges for cost reasons.

High-speed train is supposed to go through the middle of a small town: car dealer fears the end of his business

Car dealer Cameron Hunter, general manager of a local Chevy dealership that has been in business since 1947, said the construction could mean “the end of his dealership.” The state “snatched every property,” he complained.

Amanda Kirschenmann, owner of the 50-year-old flower shop Sun Country Flowers in downtown Shafter, fears the rail line will ruin her business by cutting off customers’ access to the store. “I think it will devastate our little indoor area,” Kirschenmann said.

Both businessmen also criticize the fact that the local population and city representatives are not involved and speak of a lack of transparency on the part of Governor Gavin Newsom and the rail authority.

4 Facts About the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA)

• Die CHSRA is the state agency responsible for the planning, construction and eventual operation of California’s high-speed rail system. The authority was created in 1996 to examine and develop a statewide high-speed rail network in California.
• The first construction phase is being built in the Central Valley (including around Fresno), as part of the planned San Francisco – Los Angeles/Anaheim connection.
• An important component of the financing is “Proposition 1A,” a billion-dollar bond program approved by voters in 2008 specifically for the high-speed project.
• The trains will travel at up to around 350 km/h (around 220 mph). This would make it one of the fastest rail projects in North America.