1. Analysis of the High Speed Rail in California Daniel Montanez 1, Antonio Castro 1 1 Napa Valley College, Napa, CA Abstract: San Francisco and Los Angeles are the two major metropolitan areas in California. Many people travel between theses two areas for leisure, social, and business activities. For several years, a high speed railroad connecting both areas has been proposed. Such transportation project would reduce help to ease traffic on the roads, decrease carbon dioxide emissions, and in some cases reduce travel time and cost. However, this relative large transportation and construction engineering project has its disadvantages. In addition, for a successful implementation, local transportation on both metropolitan areas needs be coordinated and integrated to complete a transportation system that will be convenient to its travelers. The main focus of this research is to examine the benefits and disadvantages of a high speed rail connecting the two major metropolitan areas in California. In addition, the investigation looks at the local transportation infrastructure and reveals possible changes and additions to ensure a coordinated integration. Integration of the engineering infrastructure of the high speed rail and the local transportation is important because it will make it more convenient for the users to transfer from on to the other. One of the main benefits of high speed rail is a reduction of cars which leads to a decrease of emissions into the environment. Other positive impacts are reduction of travel time up to a factor of 3 and decrease of cost. Since commuters want to transfer from local transportation at the departing region to high speed rail and back to local transportation at the area of destination, it is essential to have coordinated and integrated transportation systems. The findings of this research can be used to highlight the benefits of high speed rail and to identify disadvantages that can be addressed before the project is completed and implemented. In addition, the conclusion of integrating local transportation on both regions to high speed rail can lead to possible issues that need further investigation. Awareness and identification of benefits, disadvantages, and integration issues is important to engineer and implement a transportation system that would be efficient and convenient to all the commuters. Introduction Methods Findings Summary/Conclusion References Acknowledgments Scenario 1: Cost vs. Source of Transportation Scenario 2: Time vs. Source of Transportation The three sources of transportation: car, plane, and train are tested. The average cost is calculated from the point of departure to the point of destination. The costs of baggage fees and going/ leaving the terminal are combined. Data based on efficiency according to the alternative sources of transportation are provided. The time required to get from point A to point B are calculated. The time distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles is used. The High Speed Rail project would aid in reducing traffic on the roads, decrease carbon dioxide emissions, and in some cases reduce travel time and cost. "511 Driving Times." 511 SF Bay Area. Caltrans. Web. Oct. & nov. 2009.. Deutschman, Kris. "Interactive Rail Map." California High-Speed Rail Authority. State of California. Web. Sept. & oct. 2009. Gallegos, Gary. "California High Speed Rail Corridor." United States Department of Transportation. Web. Oct. 2009. Professor Antonio Castro (Advisor) Jose Hernandez (MESA Director) Funding: Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program This bar graph represents the time it takes to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles by each of the three methods of transportation. This chart represents the amount of currency that is required to get to Los Angeles by the three methods of transportation. In order to figure out average costs and time I had to combine the expenses and time lost since the time of departure. In the first scenario I examined the cost of transportation through taxi, the cost of carrying baggage on board, air fare, etc In the second scenario I had to add the time from the point of departure to the time upon arriving to the point of destination. Significant Observation: As I calculated the average time to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles I retrieved data stating that it takes approximately the same amount of time by plane or by train. The cost data states that transportation by plane is by far the most expensive by a factor of three, and the least expensive source is by High Speed Rail. Local Transportation will have to change in order for the High Speed Rail to be convenient for passengers to travel. To further my research, the information based on local transportation that has not yet been released must be gathered. Each colored section represents a difference of a ten minute radius. After the thirty minute mark we can see that the cost continues to increase. The map above demonstrates the cities that the California High Speed Rail will provide transportation for. Figure 1: Purposed costs for methods of transportation Figure 2: Purposed cities in where transportation will be provided Table 1: Travel TimeTable 2: Travel Costs Figure 3: Regions at 10 min radii in the San Francisco Bay area