Posted on 09/23/2019 6:24:21 AM PDT by cutty
Blended route” for the way to San Jose—and beyond.
California’s ongoing bullet train project is late, over-budget, and politically assailed everywhere from Sacramento to the White House, but the nearly $80 billion venture still (pardon the term) chugs along, as the High Speed Rail Authority board voted Tuesday for routes that will eventually connect trains to the Bay Area.
Out of four route proposals, board members favored a Merced-to-San Jose connection designated Alternative Four, one that “blended configuration between San Jose and Gilroy in the existing Caltrain and Union Pacific Railroad corridors before continuing to a dedicated high-speed rail alignment through Pacheco Pass” through a tunnel.
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“blended” means that future bullet trains will use a combination of existing rail infrastructure from regional transit agencies along with newly built trackways laid down specifically for high-speed rail,
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The routes favored at Tuesday’s vote may change in the future. Actual construction remains years away
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In May, a project update report found that the likely final cost now sat at $79.1 billion, almost double the $40 billion voters approved in 2008, with the route from Bakersfield to Merced now $1.8 billion pricier than previously calculated.
California is presently entrenched in litigation with the federal government over attempts to cancel nearly $1 billion in grants,
(Excerpt) Read more at sf.curbed.com ...
Oh brother. It’d cost them 40 billion just clean up the poop
3. A large quake destroys part of the line before the first passenger ever boards a train.
Bakersfield to Merced now $1.8 billion pricier than previously calculated.
And that’s before any track has been installed. I’d like to see how they are going to tackle the grade up to Gilroy, that shouldn’t run into any cost over runs. Maybe they can make a giant loop like Tehachapi. High speed trains love loops.
How many 'Bullet Trains' are in operation now, in California?....................
Though truthfully, now all this is becoming is an expansion of Bay Area Transit at the expense of all of California. The San Jose to SF high speed train is really the ultimate goal.
Zero.
None. The high speed rail has been/is “started” in the Central Valley by Feinstein’s husband’s construction company with 2-3 billion spent and the flat straight parts graded. I know of no bridges, no overpasses complete, no rails connections anywhere.
These days big money will be stolen at every stage of the process.
Democratic run states are always kleptocracies.
The costs will keep going up and up and up.....
So, they have spent nearly $3B and have not laid one inch of rail......................
As I keep noting in many topics:
There’s good money in proposing mega-projects.
Doesn’t matter if they never come to pass (most don’t), so long as there’s a sufficient influx of funding to propose & promote the project. 80 billion dollar project? Spending just 0.01% of that on planning is $8M, giving ~10 people nice incomes for 8 years. 10x that creates a self-perpetuating group for still just 1/1000th the projected cost. They’ll do just enough to keep the project alive; completion is unnecessary for those benefiting.
Well, to be fair, they sorta got this bridge mostly done:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresno_River_Viaduct
;-)
The project is a dead man walking, but will amble along until all money is drained into the appropriate pockets.
3rd option
3. California either secedes, it is then “reacquired” by the USG. It’s current state government disestablished. regarding it’s current state leadership & other “movers & shakers - Hollywierd-types” told to “pound sand”! It reverts back to territorial status. All previous state contracts “null & void”, renegotiated on a “case-by-case” basis as are state pensions. Its “reconstructed” by being broken up into as many as 4 states.
I am sure high speed rail loves existing non high speed rail track as well... ;-)
Paging Willie Green!
Indeed, it could actually get done on time and under budget, and make a profit - were it run by people interested in completion.
Seems that’s one of Elon Musk’s goals with Boring Co.: by going underground, all zoning nonsense is bypassed. Were he to just get his machines started on a long straight path at least a line could get there and something done therewith.
They can’t even get BART from SF to San Jose.
It took them decades to get BART to the airport.
It will never happen.
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