Bullet Train Planners Drop San Bernardino

The California High-Speed Rail Authority on Wednesday tentatively approved a plan to bypass downtown San Bernardino in the proposed bullet train route from Union Station in Los Angeles to San Diego.

Agency staff had recommended against a station there because it would add six minutes to travel time and cost $700 million more to build, officials said. The Inland Empire would still have stops at Ontario International Airport, March Air Force Base and UC Riverside. A final vote is scheduled for Dec. 15.

The proposed 700-mile rail network, with trains traveling up to 220 miles per hour from San Diego to Sacramento, is expected to cost more than $30 billion. A $10-billion bond measure to pay for the first leg of the project is slated for the ballot in 2006.