High Speed Rail Hits a Junction on Costs

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The train would connect Southern California with the Bay Area and would add 100,000 jobs in the next five years.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa believes the train would benefit the growing population.

"We cannot simply move the people and goods that our population has without forward thinking options. We're 38 million people right now, we're expected to be 60 million by 2050. What are we going to do to move those people?"

The high speed rail authority would like to begin the 22 year project by starting construction in Fresno.

San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee believes the train would reduce carbon emissions and freeway congestion.

"You know in the Bay Area, commuters-we lose about 115,000 hours a day just sitting in congestion. And that's an annual economic cost that totals 2.6 billion dollars of wasted money just sitting right there on our freeways."

Funding for the system is unclear as the authority only has about 9 billion dollars in state bonds.

Opponents of the plan believe the cost of the train is too high.

Commercial railroads and farmers also believe the train would compromise safety and violate property rights.