To the editor: Editorial board member Karin Klein’s article on the climate implications of holiday air travel, which appeared a day after The Times published a selection of ill-considered objections to California’s high-speed rail project, is a rejoinder almost perfect to the anti-”bullet train” nonsense.
California high-speed rail is not a “one-off” effort, but rather the beginning of a transformative approach to climate-friendly travel. When connected to an electrified subway system, light rail systems, and bus rapid transit lines, high-speed rail becomes the backbone of a sustainable system.
Furthermore, calling the initial route from Bakersfield to Merced “a train to nowhere” is deeply unfair to Central Valley residents.
Carl Kim Allender, Glendale
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To the editor: Our country made a huge mistake by favoring highways and automobiles in the 1940s and 1950s. Traveling around Europe by high-speed train is comfortable, surprising and fun.
One of the letter writers asked why people would take a three-hour train ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco when a plane takes one hour.
Because it’s never an hour on a plane: you drive to LAX, find parking, go through security, get to your gate, wait for your plane (hope it arrives on time or not be rescheduled), board your plane and sit between 15 and 20 minutes. 30 minutes before takeoff, then you run the challenge when you arrive at your destination.
We definitely need federal support to make this happen, but this project is long overdue.
Brian Aguilar, West Sacramento, California.
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To the editor: Sure, it seems strange to start the bullet train with the “middle” connecting line in the Central Valley instead of building the infrastructure at each end, both from a “common good” and “gathering support” perspective.
But the reality is that future development of the system depends, at least in part, on the vast central part of the state, and once the Central Valley portion is completed, both ends will be clamoring for viable connections.
There is no doubt that a bullet train would get passengers; The problem has always been how to build it. I favored infrastructure on each end as a first step, but it can work either way. What we need is to complete it at least nominally as soon as possible.
Mike Gallagher, La Habra Heights
