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guest editorial years in operating sections as funding becomes available, just like President Eisenhower's interstate highway system. The fi rst section is in the middle, as with Ike's fi rst highways in Nebraska and Kansas, from Fresno (nearing a million people in the metro area) to Bakersfi eld (nearly 300,000 in the metro area), two not- so-small and growing population centers. The system's maintenance base will be in that section, which also includes a 220-mile-per-hour track section for rolling stock testing. That is the only place in the state with those pivotal requirements. California's population of 38 million is projected to double by mid- century, with much of that growth in the Central Valley. Compliments go to President Obama, Gov. Jerry Brown, and the farsighted California legislature for having the courage, The new business plan for the California high-speed rail project (rendering shown) describes an economically viable system built over the next 19 years in operating sections as funding be- comes available. during these most diffi cult times, to sustainably meet the transportation needs of that unavoidable population explosion. It's time now for the naysayers to help our leaders drive some spikes…or get off the tracks. 22 < mETRO mAGAZINE SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2012 metro-magazine.com Image courtesy CHSRA