Gov. Jerry Brown has moved to assert greater control over the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which is risky for him, but essential if this ambitious transportation project is to avoid a further political tailspin.

At Brown's urging, Tom Umberg on Thursday yielded the chairmanship of the rail authority to Dan Richard, one of the governor's top advisers. Richard will lead the effort to find a successor to Roelof van Ark, the chief executive officer of the rail authority, who also stepped down.

Van Ark is an international authority on high-speed rail, and during his time at the helm, he did much to restore credibility to the California project's cost projections and ridership estimates. If the authority were unencumbered by turf battles and political challenges, his administrative skills and global contacts would help get this first phase built and aid in attracting private capital.

Yet in recent months it has become clear that the rail authority can't just "stick to its guns" in the face of flagging support from the Legislature and the public.

Californians rightly want assurance that, if the state is going to make a $10 billion down payment on high-speed rail, they won't be stuck with a half-completed train system that serves few passengers and does little or nothing to improve existing rail service.

Over the years, The Bee's views on this infrastructure project have evolved. We opposed the 2008 bond measure that authorized high-speed rail, stating that "until California fixes its chronic budget deficits, it can't afford to increase its debt for projects that, while desirable, are not of vital necessity."

Yet voters decided that they wanted to use bond funds to kick-start the rail project, and we accepted that. The question then turned to where to build the initial line.

The rail authority, with good reason, decided it should build first in the San Joaquin Valley. It wanted to take advantage of available federal stimulus money for the Valley and also to demonstrate the feasibility of high-speed trains along a relatively flat and uncluttered corridor, an option it didn't have in the Bay Area or Southern California.

That's still a smart decision, but the rail authority needs to put more emphasis on planning the other segments and improving existing rail passenger service. Both efforts will help build more popular support. But to do so, the rail authority needs help from the Obama administration.

If the White House wants high-speed rail to be successful and popular in California, it must be more flexible in how federal funds can be used.

There's probably not much the rail authority can do to calm "unconstructive" critics. These include pundits and lawmakers who are stuck in the past, bashing anything that is associated with "Europe" and wishing for a return to expansive freeway construction in California.

But by working with the Legislature and encouraging the Obama administration to be a more flexible partner, Brown can get this project out of the ditch, and back on the tracks.

He has to. He owns it now.

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