At this point it's extremely unlikely the needed funds will be secured for the foreseeable future. Even if the federal government were willing to contribute, spending $100+ billion of federal tax money on a regional rail project would be a hard sell to say the least.

Most likely the Bakersfield to Merced segment will be the only segment completed. It will end up as a white elephant racking up operational losses until Sacramento finally decides to pull the plug.

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dekhn 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I wish that they had done just San Jose to Burbank with a couple stops on the west side of the central valley (starting building from both directions at the same time). I think that was the maximum achievable initial goal.

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dangus 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The Big Dig in Boston cost almost $30 billion in inflation-adjusted money and had nowhere near the impact on the region as a high speed rail system would have in California.

It basically had zero impact outside of the City of Boston.

(And it should have been spent on demolishing that highway, not burying it and not replacing it, then expanding regional rail and transit connectivity in the Boston metropolitan area.)

Or perhaps we should bring up military spending: https://irancost.com/

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tapoxi 10 hours ago | parent [-]

Silver Line was part of the Big Dig, but I agree the North/South Rail Link should have been part of it. Having no direct connection between North Station and South Station is stupid.

But you can't just get rid of 93

	▲	dangus 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You absolutely can just get rid of 93 within city limits, especially if 30 billion was spent on adding more commuter rail. The idea that highways must cut through the city, especially one as geographically small as Boston, has been thoroughly debunked.