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On a pretty spring day when bystanders were exclaiming that you could see the mountains instead of the usual haze, a group of about 50 college students bicycled into Fresno to rally for a high-speed rail system in California.

A bond measure to fund the project is expected to be on the ballot in November. It was also expected to be on the ballot in 2004 and 2006, but was delayed both times.

"High-speed rail is going to happen in California. It's just a question of when," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said Wednesday.

The students, from chapters of CALPIRG (California Public Interest Research Group), an activist organization dedicated to defending public interests against corporate interests, were the embodiment of hope and high spirits.

They came from campuses across the state to bike along the proposed high-speed rail route, with media stops along the way. With Costa bicycling in front, they circled City Hall, chanting slogans and raising their arms over their bicycle helmets.

It went through the congressman's mind that many of the students surrounding him touting cleaner air, less congested freeways and faster traveling options than bicycling weren't born when he co-authored the original legislation in 1988 that established California's High Speed Rail Authority.

But Costa said he isn't frustrated.

"Finally, I'm hopeful. If the voters pass the bond, we'll be the first state in the nation to have real money for high-speed rail."

The long-touted plan would link California by a 700-mile system from San Francisco to San Diego, with stops including Fresno.

Travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles would take just over 21/2 hours, according to projections by the rail authority. By 2020, with increased population and no rail, the same study says, highway travel time will increase by an hour.

The study forecasts savings of 22 million barrels of oil a year by 2030, even with more fuel-efficient cars. High-speed rail would decrease air pollutants by keeping more cars off the road. The environment -- both land and water resources -- would be less affected than expanding highways and airports, according to the study.

The holdup is -- and always has been -- money. The 2008 bond measure would raise $9 billion to begin the project. It is expected to cost $40 billion by completion, with some of the funds coming from private investment and federal money.

Wednesday morning at City Hall, the students sang. They cheered.

They impersonated train cars.

Jessica Lam, 18, scrunched under a silver box designated as the Fresno boxcar. It was decorated with postcards showing Fresno State's Bulldogs and Woodward Park's Japanese Garden. The rest of the "train" was parked in front of the podium as Costa and Fresno city leaders spoke.

"It sounded great from the box, even thought I didn't get to see anything," said Lam, a freshman at the University of California at Davis.

"A lot of people were skeptical about us spending our spring break this way," she said. "But it's been so much fun. We have the music going. We're biking. And we believe in this."