California bullet train cost surges by $2.8 billion: 'Worst-case scenario has happened'

I think it's 67 billion.

"This week’s updated cost estimate to complete just the first phase - a 119-mile segment in the Central Valley - has ballooned to $10.6 billion. That’s a jaw-dropping 77 percent increase from initial estimates and up 36 percent from year-ago forecasts.

When California voters in 2008 narrowly approved $10 billion in bond as seed money for the high-speed rail development, they were told the total cost would be about $43 billion.

Fresh estimates put it now at $67 billion."

 

The left 'high speed' lane in the US isn't reapected as such. Folks commonly 'travel' in the left lane. You'd be safer doing 220 in the breakdown lane or the median.

 

Because they want you to know they can **** with you at any time for any reason. "The illusion of freedom" - George Carlin

 

In reading more about the high speed train budget I'm gobsmacked. The new estimate is up to 87 million dollars per mile for the 119 miles of the initial stage of the project.

This is criminal. Seriously. It's time for some forensic accounting to follow where the money has been diverted.

High speed, the only thing high speed about this train is its dazzling ability to burn money at warp speed.

 

Great, you don't live there anymore, move on.

 

Evabody whines about govt handouts while corporations line up for them.

 

End this boondoggle.

 

I did move away from CA, that's why I'm laughing instead of crying.

 

the could of put a third lane on i-5 to do that for a lot cheaper

 

For the 119 mile segment? It'll likely hit $20b. The entire project? Probably $200b.

 

Most road degradation comes from trucking. That's not going to change.

 

I'm not so sure about that. The reduced road usage will only occur if people were going to where the train starts and stops. If the stops are too close together then that negates the speed of the train due to the frequent stops. If the stations are far apart then they might be too far to be of use to travelers.

I think Moonbeam just wanted his name on something, a legacy.

 

This should be no problem for Californians to solve. The answer, as always, is to raise taxes on the rich and on corporations in California.

Simple.

It’s for a choo-choo, so it’s all good.

 

That's why I have a plan, we make a freight only highway around the border of the country with off ramps running north:south in straight lines through states. We could increase the speed limit to 100Mph on most of this highway since it will be made as straight as possible.

It would be a race track, but it would be striped and all of the roads would be connected at entry points in each state that would say with a big sign, "This Highway is for Semi's Only!"

It may cost a lot at first, but it would vastly improve the way things are shipped for all of us.

Now instead of a wall, you have a real barrier, large lanes full of semis speeding through at 100Mph+. We could also make a vast irrigation system below it so if a state ever needed water it could be ran to them immediately.

But hey, this is the 21st century, and ideas of greatness have died amongst this species.

 

For what that train is costing tthey could build another road or another airport with money to spare

This is allabout liberal penis eney of the euros and their fast trains

 

And then arrest the company CEOs if they dont hire enough illegal aliens to meet their quota

California has lost its mind

 

Those who want it can pay for it. Unless you are proposing crony capitalism?

Certainly, China would benefit from such a scheme.

Statist grandeur is as alive as ever. You're just upset that you can't force others to pay for your scheme while they are too busy promoting their own.

 

Haha, the state is so dumb.

 

Funny thing is they say "people" wanted this train, but when it came to laying track, you've got many towns that say "I don't want this in my backyard." This is the dumbest idea that the gov. came up with. SW Airline, if you watch carefully, you can get a ticket for $50 one way, or $100 round trip, much cheaper than the cost of a train ticket.

 

Not sure who is dumb. The "state" is not a person.

 

You have less than a 1/3 the population than the US and you are half the size of Texas. How does that comparison make any sense in your head?

 

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Why don't you buy your first passport ever, and go see their train system?
Faux News is high inadequate to cover the subject. France is almost the size of Texas...
And Paris alone has eight very efficient train stations.

 

We sold the ICE to russia and the system is extremly popular there.

Your country would be perfect for such a system, long straight rails are possible that allows absolute record speeds. National Travel by airplane is an idiocy.

Btw railway system works EU wide. I can right now jump in a train here and in 4h would be in Paris.

 

It'll also likely reduce air pollution as well.

 

Then how come Commiecuckifornia cant run a few miles for less than $20 billion?

America was built on the rail.

Then we switched to the highway.

If Trump wanted to bring back nation wide rail these libbo morons would spew their hate against him for it.

"oh it would be bad for the environment wahh"

"oh youre not using unions so how can they take 90% of the cost and put it in their pockets wahhh"

and most likely...

"oh rails are racist because wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"