High-speed rail route ill-advised

The California High Speed Rail Authority has a huge task ahead of it, persuading the state's voters to raise their sales taxes to fund a $20 billion to $30 billion rail project that would run the length of the state. So the last thing the commission should want to do is alienate a contingent of rail supporters who will be needed to press the case to the public.
But that's what authority Executive Director Mehdi Morshed did Wednesday, when he unilaterally proposed that a leg of the line down the Interstate 15 corridor be scrapped in favor of a coastal route, which he said would be cheaper. Not only was the San Diego County contingent caught by surprise by this shortsighted move, so was the rest of the nine-member commission, which thought it had already worked out a route.
The I-15 route has broad support among the county's political and business leaders, unlike the coastal route, which is already used by two dozen Amtrak trains and nearly as many Coaster commuter trains a day. Coastal residents fought off a similar proposal 15 years ago out of concern for the fragile coastal environment and fears of the high-speed trains crossing their streets.
The inland corridor is the fastest-growing portion of the county and lacks any type of rail service. The San Diego Association of Governments' High-Speed Rail Task Force overwhelmingly favored the inland route, where tracks could be built along the freeway. If the rail project makes sense anywhere -- and that's still debatable -- it's there.
Serious questions remain about the financial viability of such a costly venture, and choices need to be made on what type of train would be used -- steel-wheel vs. magnetic levitation, electric vs. diesel. Trying to push a route on communities that have showed they don't want it when a better alternative exists makes no sense at all.
The rail authority wisely delayed action on Morshed's proposal. When it meets in July, the panel should reject his poorly timed and misguided bid and go back to planning for the inland route. It has a tough enough sales job ahead of it without alienating an entire county's voters.