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xman747x t1_j9w1jfj wrote

hope this project is done in my lifetime

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SilverNicktail t1_j9wapvi wrote

End of the decade is the aim date. It's a hell of a big project.

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domainmaker t1_j9xgva0 wrote

The end date has been moved about 10 times at this point and the project has shrunk every time.

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woolash t1_j9ywiqo wrote

The new plan is from one side of Fresno to the other.

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med780 t1_j9z8d8m wrote

Here is a great read from the NYT on the complete travesty that is the CA high speed light rail.

My prediction is it will never go from LA to SF Bay Area.

https://archive.ph/C8zPQ

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RamsHead91 t1_j9yu385 wrote

Yeah largely do to push from car and oil industry interests.

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domainmaker t1_j9zmjka wrote

Everything is not a conspiracy theory, it's been documented California originally consulted with Japan and European bullet train makers. They came in and made recommendations on route and construction processes. They were all ignored, California made their own plan and all the foreign companies pulled out realizing early this would turn into a shit show.

I'm for the bullet train but being lied to and having all this money squandered is not the way to go. The current plan is to have a train from Merced to Bakersfield that no one will ride and it's not high speed anymore, I think the max speed is 110mph in a small section somewhere and the ticket is supposed to cost over 100 per person per direction.

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Altruistic-Text3481 t1_j9ywakw wrote

Elon Musk tried to derail it with his Boring Company Hyper Loop scheme. He admitted creating Boring Company just to stop High Speed Rail.

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Cunninghams_right t1_ja8bjap wrote

it is funny to watch the evolution of false information gradually change over the course of months.

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Iz-kan-reddit t1_j9xhkwi wrote

>End of the decade is the aim date.

That's foe only the first section, which has been pared way back.

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SilverNicktail t1_j9xwyt5 wrote

The "first section" is the longest section by a very long way, though.

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FightOnForUsc t1_j9yo7l2 wrote

And also the easiest by far…

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SilverNicktail t1_ja0j9sn wrote

Because they should have started with the hardest part and gotten more bogged down?

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FightOnForUsc t1_ja0jqf6 wrote

Well there’s already a train from Merced to Bakersfield (I’ve ridden it). There’s no train from Bakersfield to LA and none from Merced to SF or SJ. Either of those parts would be vastly more useful for people. Imagine being able to live in a cheap area and commuting to an area with some of the highest salaries in the country. Also LA and the Bay Area have some public transportation, Merced and Bakersfield have almost none. It will have lower ridership than either other route might have. I don’t see who is going to use going from Merced to Bakersfield on the regular

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SilverNicktail t1_ja0zur4 wrote

> Either of those parts would be vastly more useful for people.

....Which is why they're building those too? https://hsr.ca.gov/high-speed-rail-in-california/project-sections/

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FightOnForUsc t1_ja182h2 wrote

So they wanted to build the part that won’t get used on its own before building the parts that might get used on their own? Seems like an excuse to keep going with construction (sunk cost)

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Iz-kan-reddit t1_j9zdho6 wrote

Yes, but that whole section is only drawing the two ovals of the owl.

Getting out of the two ends of the Central Valley is going to be an expensive and technologically-challenging son of a bitch.

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SilverNicktail t1_ja0jdvs wrote

I know naysaying is an Internet sport, but I think the phase 1 delivery's getting a bit downplayed. Phase 1 is San Fan, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Burbank, L.A. and Anaheim. It's hardly nothing.

https://hsr.ca.gov/high-speed-rail-in-california/project-sections/

I dunno, I just get frustrated because people have bitched for decades about not having high-speed rail, and when a state actually does it they bitch about a 1500km long public works project being slow and expensive.

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Iz-kan-reddit t1_ja13s61 wrote

>Phase 1 is San Fan, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Burbank, L.A. and Anaheim. It's hardly nothing.

Despite the label of Phase 1, that's actually Phase 2. The real first phase, is Merced to Bakersfield. They're being really disingenuous when they include the Bay Area and So Cal in Phase 1, considering they won't be served for years after the Merced to Bakersfield section is up and running.

> and when a state actually does it they bitch about a 1500km long public works project being slow and expensive.

It's exploded in cost and timeframe several times over from what it was sold as when it was voted on. The system was to be operational by 2020, for a cost of about $34 billion. The price is now ranges from $88 billion to $128 billion, and even the high end estimate makes questionable assumptions.

Hell, I enthusiastically voted for this, but it's grown into an utter boondoggle. It will, however, be a pretty good system for the Central Valley.

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SilverNicktail t1_ja1505w wrote

OK, I think we're just arguing semantics at this point. The phases are further broken down into sections, and obviously some are going to come online before others.

> It's exploded in cost and timeframe several times over from what it was sold as when it was voted on. The system was to be operational by 2020, for a cost of about $34 billion. The price is now ranges from $88 billion to $128 billion, and even the high end estimate makes questionable assumptions.

But that's, like, every large infrastructure project. There's always stuff missed, contractors always talk horseshit to get through the bidding process, etc.

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Iz-kan-reddit t1_ja1grqc wrote

>OK, I think we're just arguing semantics at this point. The phases are further broken down into sections, and obviously some are going to come online before others.

There isn't even a projected completion date for Phase 1.

>But that's, like, every large infrastructure project.

Not to this extent. Even doubling in cost is rare, and this is set to break the percentage increase record set by the Big Dig.

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