VB: The plan to build a high-speed train to Northern California has given rise to a lot of pro- and con opinions, as we’ve covered. What do you think about the plan?TT: It’s a great idea. I’m not sure if it’s a best use of public money, though. The first line is said to cost about $40-50 billion. If you take that amount of money and divide it between some big cities that need mass transit, like Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernadino, you’ll probably do much better in getting people to use mass transit. The government could encourage the high-speed train with smaller investments and help private investors by giving some land and speeding up the permitting process.

http://venturebeat.com/2008/04/15/california-environmental-advisor-terry-tamminen-on-trains-energy-efficiency-al-gore-and-more/

this is the site were I got it from