Biden's High-speed rail initiative

[Baztrachian]

I can’t believe that after all the evidence we’ve presented, the “enlightened” are still arguing for this boondoggle!

I stand by this statement. The very ones screaming the loudest for this, will never set foot on that F’n Choo-choo! It will be too expensive and they’ll be in the Spirit/SouthWest/Frontier line at the airport getting their $59 tix to El Lay…

Most everyone who is of adult age today will be long dead before CAHSR is completed. The completion date for the initial segment is now being tossed around as 2035-2040. The completion date of the LA to SF line is mostly being avoided in the media but a few are saying dates like 2050 to 2080. And then they'll start work to connect San Diego and Sacramento.

 

[Hel_Books]

Why doesn't the USA have decent high-speed rail? It's just nutty that people will fly (with all the delays hassles of getting to the airport, taking off your shoes and being felt up by security etc etc etc) or even drive between points like New York City and Boston, or Washington DC and New York City!

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

Most everyone who is of adult age today will be long dead before CAHSR is completed. The completion date for the initial segment is now being tossed around as 2035-2040. The completion date of the LA to SF line is mostly being avoided in the media but a few are saying dates like 2050 to 2080. And then they'll start work to connect San Diego and Sacramento.

Actually the rescission of federal funding has effectively killed it. They might complete the Bakersfield to Merced section though.

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

You can tell this image was created with AI because it shows completed tracks.

 

[Saint_Ann]

Then trains go 2 more places than planes go.
Do you really not understand how trains and planes work?
The US has no HSR.

You really are dumb.

 

[Saint_Ann]

Go to California. You can get from LA to San Francisco in 25 years and it will only cost you about $130 billion

I wanted to go to San Fran before the homeless took it over.

 

[Saint_Ann]

California HSR has over a dozen stations along the route. With a train passengers can ride only as far as they need to go. To get the same flexibility with planes you need to schedule multiple flights for people to choose between.

Oh, there might be stations if you want to get off for a Dollar General.

 

[SgtSpiderMan]

You really are dumb.

I’m not the one who doesn’t understand how trains and planes work.

 

[Saint_Ann]

I’m not the one who doesn’t understand how trains and planes work.

Stop embarrassing yourself.

 

[HumpDayHoratio]

We’ll see how far The Train to Nowhere goes now…

 

[Baztrachian]

They might complete the Bakersfield to Merced section though.

Only as the world's most expensive bike trail.

 

[Lazaran]

Only as the world's most expensive bike trail.

Here’s some ACTUAL information on what progress has been made on the California HSR project:

But, sure, let’s just let all that work & progress go to waste by shit-canning the entire project.



Side note:

The California HSR project was unduly hampered by a few cataclysmic events in the U.S.:

• The 2008 financial crisis & the lingering effects.

• Extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change (which HSR seeks to address).

• The first Trump "presidency", that undermined the project and impacted trading partners who were connected to the project.

• The Covid pandemic & the lingering effects.

• The second Trump "presidency".





Bottom line:

Contrary to the gaslighting MAGAts’ portrayal of the project as having made little progress towards completion, there has obviously been an a great amount accomplished.





We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Rightguide]

Excellent news from the White House!

$8.2 Billion to build high-speed rail and improve intercity rail service. President Biden is delivering infrastructure for the 21st century.

So where is it today?

 

[Baztrachian]

But, sure, let’s just let all that work & progress go to waste by shit-canning the entire project.

It's called 'cutting your losses'.

For the record, I voted for this when I lived in California.

The bill of goods that was sold to the voting public, like myself, promised a 90-minute non-stop express from LA to SF that has since morphed into a three hour trip with a dozen or so stops along the way. The original route was supposed to be mostly on state-owned land along the west side of Interstate Five from about Gustine all the way into Union Station. The train would have gone along the route through the Grapevine.

Instead the route was gerrymandered through properties owned by connected politicians such as the Pelosi family, it was routed through California City to help enrich LA real estate interests, and it was rerouted to run along the 99 corridor to appease political feelings in the San Joaquin Valley.

The first iteration of several bridges and viaducts had to be torn down and replaced when the concrete was determined to be substandard. Corruption clearly played a part because various CAHSR inspectors had signed off on the structures.

The LA to SF route was supposed to be completed by 2020. Instead we're now looking at the initial segment to maybe run a train on it for testing sometime between 2035 to 2040. The LA-SF line isn't expected until 2050 to 2060. Sacramento to San Diego isn't expected until 2080 or even later. Over sixty years from now.

Fuck that.

 

[Baztrachian]

By the way, references to the original routing of CAHSR have been scrubbed from the net. Only indirect references to the original route can be found such as this article that mentions Fresno politicians lobbying for the train to come through their city.

https://ble-t.org/news/fresno-says-it-belongs-on-californias-proposed-high-speed-rail-network/

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

It's called 'cutting your losses'.

For the record, I voted for this when I lived in California.

The bill of goods that was sold to the voting public, like myself, promised a 90-minute non-stop express from LA to SF that has since morphed into a three hour trip with a dozen or so stops along the way. The original route was supposed to be mostly on state-owned land along the west side of Interstate Five from about Gustine all the way into Union Station. The train would have gone along the route through the Grapevine.

Instead the route was gerrymandered through properties owned by connected politicians such as the Pelosi family, it was routed through California City to help enrich LA real estate interests, and it was rerouted to run along the 99 corridor to appease political feelings in the San Joaquin Valley.

The first iteration of several bridges and viaducts had to be torn down and replaced when the concrete was determined to be substandard. Corruption clearly played a part because various CAHSR inspectors had signed off on the structures.

The LA to SF route was supposed to be completed by 2020. Instead we're now looking at the initial segment to maybe run a train on it for testing sometime between 2035 to 2040. The LA-SF line isn't expected until 2050 to 2060. Sacramento to San Diego isn't expected until 2080 or even later. Over sixty years from now.

Fuck that.

Who among us doesn’t share Lazaran’s dream of visiting California sometime in the 2030s to ride a train from Bakersfield to Merced?

He might want to revisit the dream and instead consider going to Disneyland in Anaheim. Way better rides and less expensive.

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

California’s Bullet Train Is a Model of Progressive Governance

Trump gave Newsom a perfect opportunity to cut his losses and shift blame. Why didn’t he take it?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has shown he’s politically flexible. He’s also shown an ability to turn rotten grapes into wine. So why isn’t he using the excuse that President Trump handed him to pull the plug on his state’s bullet train boondoggle?

The Trump Transportation Department last week rescinded $4 billion in funds for the project, noting the state’s cost-overruns, delays and funding shortfalls. “The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED.”

The president is right, and Mr. Newsom surely knows it. At the current construction rate, the 500-mile choo choo between San Francisco and Orange County won’t be completed in the governor’s lifetime. The state as of last month hadn’t begun to lay tracks on the first 119-mile segment between Madera (pop: 68,079) and Shafter (pop: 21,915).

This first leg should have been relatively easy since the state’s rural Central Valley is lightly developed and populated. No need to raze strip malls and housing developments. A private company built a 235-mile high-speed train from Orlando to Miami in 11 years for about $6 billion. Yet it has taken California more than a decade merely to bulldoze permitting barriers and clear lawsuits.

If all goes according to Mr. Newsom’s plans, the first leg might be done by the end of his second presidential term in 2036. Might. The state last week sued to restore the federal funds, which could mean years of litigation and more delays. “Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley,” he declared. “We won’t let him.”

Under the Chinese economic model, the government spurs unproductive growth by subsidizing wasteful investment, whether it be in real estate, electric vehicles or public works. China has borrowed some $1 trillion to build nearly 30,000 miles of high-speed rail lines, many of which connect lightly populated towns and carry few passengers.

That’s the future of Mr. Newsom’s bullet train to nowhere. Companies routinely cancel and write off bad investments. Why won’t Mr. Newsom and his Democratic Legislature? Because they fear voters will realize they were conned.

In 2008 Democrats sold the train to voters with fanciful promises—the same sort they make about free, universal healthcare. Democrats claimed the train would cost a mere $33 billion and be complete by 2020. The 500-mile train trip from San Francisco to Anaheim would supposedly take only 2½ hours and cost less than flying. Yippee.

Democrats also assured voters the train wouldn’t need to be subsidized because it would draw masses of riders. The state high-speed rail authority at the time projected 65.5 million annual riders by 2030, about five times as many passengers who take Amtrak’s trains in the more densely and heavily populated Northeast Corridor.

Despite such deceptions, Democrats could have extricated themselves from their big dig had they focused early train investments on electrifying commuter rail in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, as many legislators wanted. But the Obama administration required the state to build the first leg in the Central Valley as a condition for $3.5 billion in grants. Why?

To help Rep. Jim Costa, a longtime champion of the bullet train. The Blue Dog Democrat faced a tough race in 2010 owing to his unpopular vote for ObamaCare, but he was able to ride the subsidy train to victory.

Federal dollars, state bonds and cap-and-trade revenue have since kept the project chugging along. But the rail authority is at least $7 billion short of what it needs to complete the first segment and needs more than $90 billion to build all 500 miles. Couldn’t Democrats have spared some change in the $321 billion budget they just passed?

Yes. But heaven forfend they take money from their government union friends or pare back healthcare for undocumented immigrants (estimated to cost $12 billion this year). This raises the obvious question: If Democrats in Sacramento won’t pay for their vanity project out of their own coffers, why should taxpayers in Cleveland or Atlanta?

Fresh off inauguration in 2019, Mr. Newsom admitted there “simply isn’t a path” to finish the 500-mile train, which “would cost too much and take too long.” He promised to impose more spending accountability. No more blank checks. Yet the blank checks have continued, for the bullet train and everything else in the state.
Democrats spent $24 billion to combat homelessness, yet the result was more homelessness. State K-12 spending has risen by 50% since 2018, but student test scores have fallen. Electric rates have surged yet power has become less reliable.

California’s bullet train, whether or not it ever carries passengers, is a monument to the colossal failures of modern progressive government. From welfare programs to public schools, Democrats make illusory promises as they shovel out money without regard to the results. When will California voters decide they’re tired of getting taken for a ride?

 

[Baztrachian]

Other inconvenient facts:

In 2008 when CAHSR was approved China had about 8,000km of HSR in operation. In 2024 they had 48,000km of HSR in operation.

China is building HSR in 2025 at a cost of up to US$33 million per mile with most construction costing US$15m to US$27m per mile.

California has so far spent US$14 billion on 119 miles of HSR at a cost of $117,647,000 per mile. And it's not done yet.

 

[Rebel5soul]

Other inconvenient facts:

In 2008 when CAHSR was approved China had about 8,000km of HSR in operation. In 2024 they had 48,000km of HSR in operation.

China is building HSR in 2025 at a cost of up to US$33 million per mile with most construction costing US$15m to US$27m per mile.

California has so far spent US$14 billion on 119 miles of HSR at a cost of $117,647,000 per mile. And it's not done yet.

It's a scam. No more federal funds for that money pit.

 

[Lazaran]

It's called 'cutting your losses'.

For the record, I voted for this when I lived in California.

The bill of goods that was sold to the voting public, like myself, promised a 90-minute non-stop express from LA to SF that has since morphed into a three hour trip with a dozen or so stops along the way. The original route was supposed to be mostly on state-owned land along the west side of Interstate Five from about Gustine all the way into Union Station. The train would have gone along the route through the Grapevine.

Instead the route was gerrymandered through properties owned by connected politicians such as the Pelosi family, it was routed through California City to help enrich LA real estate interests, and it was rerouted to run along the 99 corridor to appease political feelings in the San Joaquin Valley.

The first iteration of several bridges and viaducts had to be torn down and replaced when the concrete was determined to be substandard. Corruption clearly played a part because various CAHSR inspectors had signed off on the structures.

The LA to SF route was supposed to be completed by 2020. Instead we're now looking at the initial segment to maybe run a train on it for testing sometime between 2035 to 2040. The LA-SF line isn't expected until 2050 to 2060. Sacramento to San Diego isn't expected until 2080 or even later. Over sixty years from now.

Fuck that.

Another reading for comprehension FAIL by a MAGAt.

<quelle surprise>



For the reading for comprehension challenged:

1) The main purpose of my post was to debunk the gaslighting narrative coming from the RWCJ usual suspects (MAGAts) that suggested ZERO progress was being made on California’s HSR project.

2) The reality of the 2008 financial crisis, Trump’s first "presidency" (undermining of the project and trade chaos affecting suppliers), the Covid pandemic, climate change exacerbated floods & fires, and, now, Trump’s second "presidency" CANNOT be ignored when considering the California HSR project’s costs & delays.

3) Not touched on in my original comment, but it bears addressing: So you’re telling me there was politicking and some instances of corruption involved with the project??? Well knock me over with a feather…



Bottom line:

SIGNIFICANT progress HAS been made on the project - despite the INDISPUTABLE realities of: the UNPRECEDENTED 2008 financial crisis; UNPRECEDENTED Trump sabotage; UNPRECEDENTED climate change exacerbated disasters; UNPRECEDENTED Covid pandemic, and MOAR UNPRECEDENTED Trump sabotage (well, not really unprecedented, as Trump sabotaged the project before).

The RWCJ usual suspects’ (MAGAts’) gaslighting narrative about California’s HSR project is pure bullshit.



Hope that ^ helps…AGAIN..,





We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Baztrachian]

It's a scam. No more federal funds for that money pit.

Newsom doesn't like it either and that's not a secret. Maybe the Feds closing the checkbook will allow Newsom to gin up the nerve to stop state spending too.

Besides, he wants to build the Delta Tunnel(s) to divert water from Sacramento to Los Angeles and one of the stopping points has been CAHSR. The bonding banks won't finance the tunnel project because the state's debt ratio with CCAHSR isn't balancing out for long term projections. Get rid of CAHSR and maybe the money will free up for the Delta Tunnel project.

 

[Rebel5soul]

Newsom doesn't like it either and that's not a secret. Maybe the Feds closing the checkbook will allow Newsom to gin up the nerve to stop state spending too.

Besides, he wants to build the Delta Tunnel(s) to divert water from Sacramento to Los Angeles and one of the stopping points has been CAHSR. The bonding banks won't finance the tunnel project because the state's debt ratio with CCAHSR isn't balancing out for long term projections. Get rid of CAHSR and maybe the money will free up for the Delta Tunnel project.

How much is the state in the hole as it is?

 

[Lazaran]

Other inconvenient facts:

In 2008 when CAHSR was approved China had about 8,000km of HSR in operation. In 2024 they had 48,000km of HSR in operation.

China is building HSR in 2025 at a cost of up to US$33 million per mile with most construction costing US$15m to US$27m per mile.

California has so far spent US$14 billion on 119 miles of HSR at a cost of $117,647,000 per mile. And it's not done yet.

MOAR gaslighting from a RWCJ usual suspect (MAGAt.).



Once again:

The cost of the project is NOT limited to the miles of track laid.

SIGNIFICANT progress HAS been made on California’s HSR project, despite ALL of the UNPRECEDENTED obstacles:

We. Told. Them. So.

 

[Baztrachian]

How much is the state in the hole as it is?

California is somewhere between fucked and really fucked.

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2025/07/california-budget-deficit-reckoning/

The state raided one of their reserve accounts and counted it as revenue and they've also repeated the Jerry Brown stunt of raiding sequestered funds in numerous departments and issuing IOU's for the money.

Basically kicking the can to next year and to whoever is stupid enough to follow Newsom as governor.

Add to this the compounding problem that last FY 2024-2025 they had a $68 billion deficit which they also papered over.

https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2023/4819/2024-25-Fiscal-Outlook-120723.pdf

In reality California is about $100bn behind the eight ball and it is not going to get better.

Real estate property taxes from fire affected Los Angeles neighborhoods are collapsing since many properties are being blocked from rebuilding, they're being blocked from selling, and the state is now talking about condemning and seizing them for low income housing.

The state's share of the property tax losses is looking to be $3bn to as much as $5bn. Income tax losses with the people who have so far fled for other states is estimated at $10bn to $30bn - and we won't know for sure until next April.

The state is desperately trying to hang onto the entertainment and IT industries who are uniformly decamping to less hostile jurisdictions and state revenues are dropping.

 

[Baztrachian]

The cost of the project is NOT limited to the miles of track laid.

The cost of a fucking RAILROAD is absolutely limited to the miles of track laid.