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California eyes French high speed train
2007-04-03
The US state of California is eyeing France's high speed train for a planned link between San Franciso and San Diego, the speaker of its state assembly said on Tuesday during a visit to France. "We are contemplating in California the possibility of a high speed train that would go from the San Francisco Bay area to Los Angeles and San Diego, in South California. We're here to study the rail system," the speaker Fabian Nunez said. France's TGV was on Tuesday attempting to set a new world speed record for a train on rails, with organisers aiming to hit at least 560 kilometres (350 miles) per hour. "You have been ahead of time (in producing a) very practical rail system in France which can move people from one place to another," Nunez, California's third most powerful politician said. "Today you'll be breaking a new speed record with your high speed train, the timing of our venue couldn't have been better." The record attempt was to be tried on a 73-kilometre (45.3 mile) stretch of track between Paris and the eastern city of Strasbourg. Weather permitting, the experimental Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) will aim to break a 17-year-old speed record for a traditional rail-based train of 515.3 kilometres (320.2 miles) per hour. That was set by an earlier version of the TGV. Nunez, who was holding talks with the Alstom company and French railway officials, said California was also looking at other trains, but had a particular interest in the French model. "We've had several meetings with industrials. We are looking at the other models, but we are particularly interested in the French model," he said. California is more adaptable to the French experience. The example of the Paris-Lyon liaison is an experience that is very similar to what we want to do in California between San Francisco and LA." The planned high speed train link would go from Sacramento in the north to San Diego in the south via San Francisco and Los Angeles, covering a distance of 1,100 kilometres (683 miles). The time of the trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles would be reduced to two and a half hours. Nunez said the timeline for the plan was early 2009.
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