What's not mentioned...

...Is how much it will cost the California taxpayers for the operating subsidies in perpetuity ?

Calif. high-speed rail gets $624 million more

Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer

California received an additional $624 million to start building the $43 billion statewide high-speed rail system in the Central Valley - money that will likely be used to take the initial stretch of rail south to Bakersfield.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Thursday that $1.2 billion in federal high-speed rail funds allocated to Wisconsin and Ohio would be rerouted to other states. Wisconsin and Ohio elected Republican governors who oppose high-speed rail and have asked to spend the funds instead on highway projects.

The new funds bring to $3.2 billion the amount of federal funds awarded to California. Federal railroad officials have said they want their money spent in the San Joaquin Valley. The state's High-Speed Rail Authority last week selected a 54-mile segment from Borden, north of Fresno, to Corcoran, about midway between Fresno and Bakersfield, as the initial section.

The authority would install tracks, and build basic stations in Fresno and the Hanford area, but would not electrify the rails, purchase railcars and locomotives or run trains until the stretch of railroad reached either north toward the Bay Area or south toward Bakersfield. Board members have said the initial stretch of track will be the backbone of a system that will connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, and eventually cover 800 miles; critics have dubbed it "the train to nowhere."

Roelof vanArk, the authority's chief executive officer, said the additional federal funding reaffirmed the federal government's support of the much-criticized project.

"This is yet another vote of confidence that California's project is on the right track toward creating tens of thousands of jobs for our state and constructing the nation's first true high-speed rail system," he said.

While vanArk did not say whether the money would be used to extend the Central Valley segment north or south, federal officials apparently want the route to go to Bakersfield. Jeff Barker, the authority's deputy director, said the agency had not yet received any direction from the Department of Transportation.