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Local officials and residents aren't alone in their concern about a "lack of transparency" and oversight in the state's quest to build a $40 billion high-speed rail system.

A state Senate subcommittee Thursday expressed concerns about the structure and business plan of the California High Speed Rail Authority -- the agency charged with building the $40 billion rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The Senate's budget subcommittee, which includes senators Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), John J. Benoit (R-Bermuda Dunes) and Alan S. Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), heard a request from the rail agency for about $130 million in bond funding.

Simitian said the community's message was "loud and clear." The subcommittee agreed to hold off on authorizing the funds and urged rail-authority officials to expand their outreach efforts.

The senators heard from about 30 concerned Peninsula residents who made a morning trek to Sacramento to lobby for more oversight and transparency.

President Barack Obama released a strategic plan last week that outlines his vision for developing high-speed rail in the United States.

The plan draws on $13 billion in federal investment as a down payment on a world-class passenger rail system consisting of 10 high-speed rail corridors. The initial federal investment would consist of $8 billion in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), plus $1 billion per year for the next five years as requested in the federal budget.

The high-speed rail corridors run along the East Coast and most of the West Coast, and form networks in the Northeast, Midwest and South, with each corridor extending 100 to 600 miles.

hree New England rail corridors are eligible to receive billion of dollars for high-speed rail under a set of preliminary guidelines the Obama administration unveiled today.

But the proposed high-speed routes, which would connect Boston to Montreal, Albany, N.Y., and Portland, Maine, will likely face stiff competition from California and a coalition of Midwestern states who want the funds for their own corridors. Both regions are further along than New England in planning for high-speed rail and are thought to be frontrunners for much of the funding.

President Obama, who touted high-speed rail's economic and environmental benefits in a speech this morning, hopes to make expanding the nation's passenger rail network one of his signature issues. The economic stimulus package he signed in February included $8 billion for upgrades to fast trains, and the administration has also asked for another $1 billion annually for the next five years.

"High-speed rail is long-overdue, and this plan lets American travelers know that they are not doomed to a future of long lines at the airports or jammed cars on the highways," Obama said.