Excuse me, but wasn't all that federal funding for the California High-Speed Rail project intended to benefit the labor market here in our state, as well as boost our ailing economy? Isn't that what all the Democrats and the High-Speed Rail Authority have been saying? Weren't these stimulus dollars intended to stimulate us here in California?
Well, apparently not. And that's what we have been warning about for several years. The Unions' assumption -- and that's why they have been such aggressive HSR promoters -- is that the project would provide thousands of jobs for the California unemployed.
Unfortunately, that's the marketing garbage that the HSR authority has been doling out with jobs numbers going as high as nearly one billion. Hundreds of thousands of construction jobs. Hundreds of thousands of "permanent" jobs. What a crock!
Pay attention California Unions. If you are too expensive, labor will find its way here from other states. And if they lack specific and necessary job skills, the rail authority will have to import green-card carrying professional high-speed rail construction specialists here from overseas to "do it right." The US has no HSR capacity or experience. (Acela certainly doesn't count as real HSR experience.)
Also, we are going to have to import both the rolling stock and other hardware off the shelves of HSR operating nations with manufacturing capacity, and also the construction know-how.
Yes, Siemens is building a HSR assembly plant outside of Sacramento with the hopes of snagging a fat contract from the rail authority. But, even if they do, the parts will be manufactured in Germany and that's also where the profits will end up. Just the same way as the Parsons Brinckerhoff profits are headed for the UK.
Stories, like this one, below, tell us what we can expect. California, says Joe Vranich, who ought to know, is too expensive. Texas is cheaper. So GE, which is seriously getting into the railroad business, is hiring there, not here. Is this something that either the FRA in Washington, or the CHSRA in California want us to know? I think not. But our Democratic representatives ought to be aware of this. Unless, of course, they don't want to know.
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Orange County Register
BUSINESS
Updated: May 16, 2011 12:46 p.m.
Missed chance? Texas gets 500+ GE rail jobs
By MARY ANN MILBOURN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
mmilbourn@ocregister.com
GE Transportation has announced plans for a $96 million locomotive manufacturing plant that will create an initial 500 jobs in Fort Worth, Tex. by next year and up to 275 more later. The company will also expand its longtime Erie, Penn. headquarters, adding 250 workers.
GE's rail expansion announcement came a month after 12 California legislators, led by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, went to Texas to find out why so many businesses are locating or expanding there rather than here.
Dallas-Fort Worth led the country in year-over-year job growth in March, adding 69,000 workers. The Orange County-Los Angeles area was fifth with 39,500 jobs.
GE's expansion into Texas comes at a time when California is moving into a rail renaissance.
Railroad traffic at California's ports is bouncing back as the state benefits from increased international trade. The state is also planning to break ground on a San Francisco-to-San Diego high speed rail line next year.
Last week, Metrolink added 16 new trains to its Southern California commuter rail system, including two seasonal trains between Orange County and the Inland Empire that will begin in July. The Orange County Transportation Authority also approved six new trains that will start service between Fullerton and Laguna Niguel this summer.
Meanwhile, Anaheim is also moving forward with a new $184 million regional transportation hub near the 57 freeway and Katella that will be centered around rail transportation.
Joe Vranich, an Irvine business relocation expert with longtime experience in railroads, said GE's decision to expand in Texas rather than California makes good sense because of the high costs here.
"What kind of company is going to move here if your cost of manufacturing is 30% higher," Vranich said. "It's not just the money. It's not just the taxes. It's the regulation."
GE said its rail manufacturing expansion is the result of a booming demand for its fuel-efficient transportation products. The company's transportation division reported $938 million in orders in the first quarter and $903 million in first-quarter revenues, up 18% year-over-year.
The new 900,000-square-foot Fort Worth facility will manufacture and assemble the company's rail and transportation-related products. The plant will make locomotives including GE's Evolution Series, which reduces emissions by up to 40% and cuts fuel use by 5% — the equivalent of 640,000 gallons over lifetime of the train.
"This investment will create a major locomotive manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, along with hundreds of jobs for Texans and millions in capital investment in the area," said Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Read more about jobs and the economy on Handling Hard Times.
