Quote:
Originally Posted by MAC123
You do realize that part of the reason this project even got started was because of promises to better connect inland California to the Bay Area and LA Metro right?
And yes, it does strengthen the project.
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No.
The project was an attempt to connect LA to SF. It had nothing to do with a bullet train to Bakersfield, or any of the later nonsense. That was all political horsetrading and bizarre mission creep.
CAHSR was a response to the flight congestion between LA and SF, and an attempt to put airline passengers on trains. It had nothing to do with the Central Valley, or equity, or lifting areas out of poverty, etc. It should have no purpose but connecting LA to SF, like every other bullet train on earth. Connecting transit-oriented population centers in minimal time. Not serving as a jobs program, economic development program, and all the other crap.
The newer angle is that's a superfast commuter train, basically. The original LA-SF airline killing objective (the objective of every other HSR line) has been thrown out. Given that HSR has insane costs, the only way it functions for commuters is by massively subsidizing tickets. And it cannot simultaneously function as a commuter line and business line for long-distance passengers.