From: j.albert@snet.net   
      
   http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/State-Amtrak-cancel-joint-hig   
   -speed-train-bid-5567905.php   
      
   California, Amtrak end joint high-speed train bid   
   By JULIET WILLIAMS, Associated Press   
   Updated 3:48 pm, Friday, June 20, 2014   
      
   SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Amtrak and the California   
   High-Speed Rail Authority said Friday that they canceled a   
   joint agreement seeking companies to build high-speed trains   
   for them, a proposal billed as a way to save money and lure   
   advanced train manufacturing to the United States.   
      
   The agencies said their needs are too different and   
   manufacturers are not yet ready to build trains that can run   
   on both Amtrak's 100-year-old rail lines and the high-speed   
   corridors planned for California's system.   
      
   The joint proposal announced in January called for bids by   
   mid-May on up to 28 electric-powered train sets with 400-450   
   seats each for Amtrak and 15 train sets with a minimum of   
   450 seats for high-speed rail. The number of cars per train   
   would be up to bidders to propose.   
      
   It became clear in meetings with manufacturers during the   
   last few weeks that the requirements were too different to   
   incorporate into one set of trains, said Lisa-Marie Alley, a   
   spokeswoman for high-speed rail.   
      
   "The feedback that we got from the industry was that Amtrak   
   and high-speed rail need such different things, it was   
   almost impossible for them to build a train that meets both   
   our needs," she said. "We'd hoped that the industry had   
   evolved to where they can accommodate both."   
      
   California's $68 billion project, which has been stalled   
   because of repeated legal setbacks blocking financing,   
   requires speeds of up to 220 mph, while Amtrak is limited to   
   160 mph on the Washington-New York City-Boston segment.   
      
   The agencies concluded that too many compromises would need   
   to be made to meet both their needs, which would "move us   
   away from a service-proven design and create significant   
   risks as to schedule and costs," Amtrak spokesman Craig   
   Schulz said in an email.   
      
   Despite previous statements that the joint bidding could   
   save money, Alley said the change would not affect the cost   
   or construction timeline for high-speed rail. She said   
   California does not require prototypes until 2018, and the   
   agreement had called for Amtrak to receive its trains first.   
      
   California's high-speed rail project has come under   
   increased scrutiny, and newly elected U.S. House Majority   
   Leader Kevin McCarthy has vowed to block federal funding for it.   
      
   Several unfavorable court rulings have also delayed work. In   
   the most high-profile case, a Sacramento County Superior   
   Court judge halted the sale of $8.6 billion in state rail   
   bonds and ordered the state to write a new funding plan,   
   delaying work on the first 28-mile segment from Madera to   
   Fresno. The state has appealed.   
      
   But the $108 billion budget that Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown   
   signed Friday includes a $250 million gift for the project   
   in the coming fiscal year from the state's cap-and-trade   
   greenhouse-gas emissions fund and dedicates a quarter of   
   future cap-and-trade money to the project.   
      
   "This high-speed rail is cheaper than more freeway lanes and   
   more airport runways," Brown said Friday.   
      
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