SAN DIEGO COUNTY - News from Aug. 8, 1994

Vote Expected on Bullet Train: Planning, environmental studies, rights of way and technological research for a possible magnetic levitation “bullet train” between San Diego and Sacramento and other U.S. transit corridors would be funded under a $184-million federal transportation bill called the High Speed Rail Development Act. The bill may come up for a vote in the House of Representatives as early as Wednesday. Introduced by Rep. Lynn Schenk (D-San Diego), the bill is a precursor to a much larger authorization bill that could fund actual construction of several high speed trains similar to those that operate in Europe and Japan. A bullet train could be a tough sell in San Diego, however, where a previous proposal for a 200-m.p.h. train to Los Angeles and back died in the mid-1980s after generating strong local opposition. “Things have changed since 1985,” a Schenk aide said. The House bill, which would need Senate approval, would authorize matching federal funds to states and municipalities considering high-speed transit.