HSR: Still Lingering

We were highly skeptical when we first looked at the high-speed rail (HSR) project, which has grown more problematic with each passing year:

Merced-Bakersfield route (Chron graphic)

Since 2012 we've been commenting on the complicated design, pie-in-the-sky ridership assumptions, and cost overruns of the California high-speed rail project.

On February 12, 2019 Governor Newsom effectively killed the project by announcing that he would only commit to completing the Central Valley line between Merced (pop. 83,000) and Bakersfield (pop. 376,000).

One could have reasonably expected the coronavirus to put HSR out if its misery (since many riders have soured on germ-ridden mass transit), but one would be wrong. It's being kept alive as a jobs program for powerful unions and the hope that a President Biden ("a train guy") would reverse the Trump Administration position and support Federal funding.

If the Republican Party were just slightly competitive in California, Democrats would fear wasting $billions on HSR when the State is facing a $54-billion-dollar deficit. Democrats guess that they won't pay a price in November, and they're probably right.