From Vision to Disillusionment: The Story of California’s High-Speed Rail

Quentin Kopp, who served as a California state senator in the 1980s, was one of the first to introduce the idea of high-speed rail to California.

"There's a new kind of train here now. They call it high-speed. The first line is from Paris to Lyon. I said, 'Well, let's try it,'" Kopp said, recalling the first time he experienced high-speed rail when visiting a friend in France in 1985.

Kopp initiated and persistently advocated for the idea of building California's own high-speed rail system. His efforts led to the creation of the California High-Speed Rail Authority and a $9.5 billion bond for the project.

"I've traveled to Japan, France, Germany, and Great Britain, studying high-speed rail. The ballot measure that voters approved called for the first section to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two hours and 40 minutes, which would rival air travel," Kopp said.

However, over the years, the project has strayed further and further from its original design.

"My biggest accomplishment could have been high-speed rail, but that's a pipe dream ... They changed the plan. Their idea is to build it from Merced to Bakersfield, which is nonsense," Kopp remarked. "Today, they estimate the cost is over $100 billion, and they don't have any money."

In part 2 of our interview with Quentin Kopp, we explore what happened to California's high-speed rail and why he still believes politics is a noble profession.