Free «California’s High Speed Rail» Essay

The construction of a high-speed rail system in California has a number of advantages. First of all, it will bring economic benefits. One of them is employment of workers: the system provides 100,000 jobs related with construction for each year of building and 450,000 new jobs after opening. Among the other economic benefits are the improved transportation of people, faster locomotion between the main urban areas and reduction of airport and traffic congestion.

In addition, the high-speed rail system has environmental benefits. The power for it can be created by such energy generators as wind and sun, which are renewable. Therefore, this system can reduce air pollution in California. It saves energy, because it uses 70% less the energy of planes and 80% less the energy of the car. Such system will help to reduce the usage of foreign oil for millions litres less per year. It will also reduce the greenhouse gas liberation.

The high-speed rail system has several benefits for the society. Travelling will become faster, cheaper and more comfortable. It will provide the development of economy around the new transportation points. This rail system will also enhance public safety due to disconnection of roads and highways (Project Vision and Scope).

Nevertheless, it is important to mention that the high-speed rail system in California has a number of disadvantages as well. This system is negative for agriculture and farmers, because the bullet train can destroy plants and irrigation canals. Moreover, the route of train passes through the richest agricultural belt (Dreier).

The bullet train in California will be negative for many people. This system requires much land including cities and farms, so such train would demolish schools, fields, factories, churches, banks, trailer parks, apartment buildings and much more (Vartabedian). If the high-speed rail system is built, thousands of people will lose their homes and jobs, potentially more jobs may be lost than provided after opening of a high-speed rail system.

There are also probable risks of railway accidents. Safety experts say that a crash involving those trains, which would travel up to 220 mph, could be serious (Vartabedian and Weikel).

Construction of a high-speed rail system in California costs a lot. The estimated cost is changing often. When the project was put before voters, its cost was supposed to be $33 billion. After the revision, it increased to $43 billion (McArdle). It is about half of California's annual budget. So, implementation of this plan may be very hard for the economy of California, and the project may not pay off for a long period of time.

Having analyzed pros and cons of the high-speed rail system in California, it is hard to support it completely. The managers of the project say it has many advantages, but other experts indicate weighty disadvantages of it. In my opinion, this project is ill-considered, because it would bring a number of problems to economy and society. Economic issues are large because the project is very expensive, it would also deprive a lot of people their homes and jobs. Of course, new jobs are promised, but it will take several years to get them, furthermore, new jobs may not be appropriate for the people who lost their jobs because of bullet train project. Moreover, the project would be harmful to agriculture and farmers. Despite these facts, the high-speed rail system is beneficial for the society. Nevertheless, such project in California is problematic. To my mind, it must be reviewed and changed in order not to make harm to the economy and society.