California has not undertaken an infrastructure project on the scale of HSR in more than a generation. Any project of this size necessarily faces uncertainty over financial feasibility. In the case of HSR, there has been great uncertainty surrounding the financing for construction costs, as well as the costs of operating the HSR system once construction is complete. The promise made by HSR supporters has been that private monies will finance a significant portion of the project's construction and that fare revenues will provide adequate revenues to cover operating costs. This panel will discuss the costs of HSR in comparison to the cost of highway and airport expansion, taking into consideration the anticipated improvements in these competing modes. The panel will offer insights into the likely financial feasibility of California's HSR system. Moderator: Samer Madanat Xenel Professor of Engineering Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies UC Berkeley "The Future Air Transport: Projections for California" Mark Hansen Professor Group Leader, Transportation Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering UC Berkeley "The Future of Roads: Projections for California" Sébastien Blandin Systems Engineering Program Civil and Environmental Engineering UC Berkeley "It Takes Money to Save Money and CO2 to Save CO2" Michel Leboeuf Director of Major Projects and Prospective Analysis French National Railways Corporation (SNCF) Voyages -- France "Lifecycle Assessment of Large Infrastructure Projects: The Case of HSR" Mikhail Chester Postdoctoral Researcher Civil and Environmental Engineering UC Berkeley

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