Light at the End of the Tunnel

The future Fresno station: too bad we'll never see it. (Chron)

We were skeptical of the high-speed rail project when it was announced in 2012. As cost estimates tripled, milestones got pushed out, and expectations were massaged down, we became convinced it would never be completed. From 2018:

I'd bet money on this: we will put a human being on Mars before anyone travels from LA to SF on high-speed rail.

In 2024 harsh realities are at last sinking in.

the project remains about $7 billion short of the cost to complete the initial segment from Merced to Bakersfield.

The rail project also needs about $100 billion to make the original vision of linking San Francisco and Los Angeles via bullet trains a reality. And some of the project’s watchdogs say state leaders need to decide soon whether to commit to the entire project — or abandon it.

In an election year no one in power will admit to this multi-billion-dollar disaster, much less allow the project to be cancelled. Nevertheless, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel---and it's not an oncoming train.