Webinar: Complete California High-Speed Rail in Five Years?
Note: This is a Streetsblog event.
The California High-Speed Rail project will fundamentally transform how people move around the state, spur economic growth, create a cleaner environment, and preserve agricultural lands and natural habitat –and construction continues every day on the project and service is slated to start within the Central Valley in 2030…but what would it take for the entire project to be done and in service from Los Angeles to San Francisco within 5 years? Tune in for a discussion from a panel of experts on the technical, financial and political hurdles that would need to be overcome in order to have high-speed trains running between LA and SF by the end of 2028 and what would need to happen to clear those hurdles.
Panelists:
Boris Lipkin, Northern California Regional Director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Boris Lipkin was appointed Northern California Regional Director for the California High-Speed Rail Authority by Governor Jerry G. Brown in 2018 and reappointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020. As the Northern California Regional Director, Boris is leading the planning and delivery of the high-speed rail program in the Northern California region. In this capacity, Boris has also been appointed as the Authority’s representative on the Transbay Joint Powers Authority Board of Directors
Eric Eidlin, AICP is the Station Planning Manager for the City of San Jose and Adjunct Faculty at San Jose State University’s Mineta Transportation Institute. A transportation planner and urban designer, Eric plays a leading role in San Jose’s efforts to transform Diridon Station into a world-class multimodal hub. Eric brings a wealth of experience in high-speed rail and intermodal facility planning to the City. As an Urban and Regional Policy Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. (GMF), Eric studied best practices in HSR system and station development in France and Germany. Eric also teaches a class on intercity and high-speed rail planning and design at San Jose State University and has served as an advisor to a number of transportation planning studios and students at UC Berkeley.
Carter Lavin, Transportation Activist. Carter Lavin trains organizations and individuals to more effectively build political power, hone strategy, and win campaigns on the local, regional, and state level. He has helped win local and California-wide budget and policy fights on transportation and clean energy issues.
Panel Discussion will be moderated by:
Roger Rudick, Editor, Streetsblog San Francisco. Streetsblog San Francisco is part of a national daily news source connecting people to information about sustainable transportation and livable communities since 2006. A veteran journalist, Rudick’s work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and on National Public Radio affiliates in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. He’s written extensively on California’s High Speed Rail project.
