State lawmakers who have supported California's ambitious high-speed rail project questioned whether the state can afford it Tuesday after a report showed sharply higher cost estimates to build the first segment.
A Democratic lawmaker who has backed the system in the past said the state should consider returning $3.5 billion in federal grants and halting the project unless the California High-Speed Rail Authority lays out a clear path to finance, build and operate the system without leaving the state's taxpayers on the hook for unexpected cost overruns.
"We really need to re-examine what we're spending and what we're going to get for it," said Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, who has promoted the concept of high-speed rail but more recently supported legislation to rein in the authority and change the way the project is governed.
Another Democrat, Sen. Joe Simitian of Palo Alto, said he feels a growing frustration with the rail planners and the pressure to start construction quickly.
"Getting this right is more important than getting it done quickly," Simitian said.
Lawmakers are focused on October, when the rail authority must present business and financing plans to the Legislature.
Environmental reports released Tuesday show the first segment of the line in the Central Valley will cost between $10 billion and $13.9 billion, far more than the 2009 estimate of $7.1 billion.
Rail authority officials say the 2009 estimates were made before detailed engineering work and feedback from communities along the proposed route.
The reports released Tuesday lay out specific route alternatives for the planned initial section, 178 miles of tracks between Merced and Bakersfield. The cost varies depending on which route is ultimately selected.
For example, up to $3.8 billion of the increased cost is associated with elevating the tracks for as much as 42 miles.
Planners anticipated the higher costs as more information about land acquisition and other details related to actual construction became known, said Roelof van Ark, the rail authority's chief executive.
"We've had cost increases, but I believe the costs are now realistic and fair," he said.
He said delays will lead to escalating costs. Construction of the first stretch of tracks is scheduled to begin by September 2012.
California voters approved $9 billion in bonds in 2008 to start the project, which originally had been expected to cost $43 billion for an 800-mile system linking the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley and Southern California.
Van Ark said that estimate also is sure to grow.
The rising costs and concerns that the federal government will focus on austerity measures and shut off money for high-speed rail projects have left lawmakers and others questioning whether California can afford the project.
"We have no assurance that there are any additional funds," Lowenthal said. "The Legislature is becoming more critical and is losing confidence."
The decision to start construction in the Central Valley, linking relatively small towns, also has generated criticism that the project could become a high-priced "train to nowhere." In a critical report earlier this year, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's office said the rail line should start near coastal population centers and recommended moving control of the project from the largely independent rail board to the state Department of Transportation.
State Sen. Doug La Malfa, R-Willows, said he is preparing legislation that would ask voters to reconsider the project in June 2012. Voters authorized $9 billion in bonds for the project in 2008, although most of those bonds have not yet been sold.
"This thing is well on its way to massive cost overruns," La Malfa said. "The costs are starting to escalate and we need to take a time-out."
Supporters of the rail project, the nation's most ambitious, said the private sector will be a significant source of funding and that the money will start flowing once work begins.
