California State Rail Plan 2007-08 to 2017-18

Chapter XIV – Policy Statement/RecommendationsCHAPTER XIVPOLICY STATEMENT/RECOMMENDATIONSPOLICY STATEMENT NO. 1: CALIFORNIA STRATEGICINTERESTIn order to maintain the position and contributions the freight rail systemmakes to California and the nation, it is in the strategic interest of the State tomaintain, preserve and improve California’s freight rail system.IMPORTANCE OF THE FREIGHT RAIL SYSTEM TO CALIFORNIAThe State of California occupies a position of economic and strategic importancein the nation. To maintain this position and provide a springboard for expandedeconomic growth at both regional and national levels, the preservation andmaintenance of the freight rail system in the State is of crucial importance.California faces myriad problems in the movement of goods and people as entersthe 21 st century. With an expanding State and national economy, and a growingpopulation, issues of congestion, air quality, land use and natural resource usedirectly impact California. The population of the State was 34.1 million in 2000,but projections by the State Department of Finance foresee a population of over44.1 million by 2020, and 59.5 million by 2050.To meet the challenges of a growing population and expanding economy billionsof dollars in investments will have to be made in California’s rail networks,highways and port systems to add capacity and reduce congestion. Most of thisinvestment will be made in the four major goods movement corridors:Los Angeles-Long Beach/Inland Empire; San Diego/Border; Bay Area, andCentral Valley. Maintaining and expanding capacity along these transportationarteries provide not only a basis for economic growth in the State, but they alsoserve as an increasingly important network to all sections of the U.S.California is in a strategically important geographical position. As well ascontaining approximately 12 percent of the nation’s population, and having theeighth largest economy in the world, it serves as the entryway for huge amounts ofgoods from outside the country, which connect not only to California but also tothe rest of the United States. Major freight corridors extend both east-west andnorth-south for the movement of both imports and exports.Of increasing importance are the port complexes associated with internationaltrade. In the Los Angeles area alone, international trade created 45,500 jobs in2005, bringing the annual average employment to over 450,000.Investments in goods movement infrastructure can yield numerous benefits.As well as increased employment, traffic congestion and exhaust emissions can be205