Well this is what happens when you just throw money out there with little foresight/thought. Aside from the fact that the routes envisioned for the train had been used and dropped by Amtrak due to poor ridership/occupancy in the 90’s.

California has already approved ( I didn’t vote for it btw) a 10 Billion dollar bond issue to get it off the ground.

This thing needs to be halted in its tracks, pun intended, pull the plug on the bond issue.


Those hoping to ride the state’s high-speed train next decade will have to dig much deeper into their wallets than officials originally thought, a harsh reality that will chase away millions of passengers, according to an updated business plan released Monday.

The average ticket on the bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles is now estimated to cost about $105, or 83 percent of comparable airfare. Last year, the state said prices would be set at 50 percent of comparable airfare and predicted a ticket from San Francisco to Los Angeles would cost $55.

As a result of the higher fares, state officials now think the service will attract 41 million annual riders by 2035, down from last year’s prediction of 55 million passengers by 2030.

Finally, the cost of the project — recently pegged at $33.6 billion in 2008 dollars — is now estimated at $42.6 billion in time-of-construction dollars.

State high-speed train rides to be costlier, ridership lower than promised to voters - San Jose Mercury News

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Bis interimitur qui suis armis perit...

a govt project misses its budget ? shocking !

time to get govt out of the railroad busness.

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Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

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"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

yeah well here's a snippet I missed in the op, get this;

Authority Deputy Director Jeff Barker said while the numbers have changed, the "spirit of what the people voted for" with Proposition 1A remains the same.

uhm yea, we fund and build on spirit now, what nitwits.

__________________

"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Bis interimitur qui suis armis perit...

Government projects have always underestimated costs and time while overestimating revenue. It makes me wonder who the hell does the economic models for these things. To be so consistently wrong on such a dearth of projects. I'd be astounded but I'm past that point now.

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Is our children learning? -George W. Bush

"I think—tide turning—see, as I remember—I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of—it's easy to see a tide turn—did I say those words?"—Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

Companies do the same thing - even ones that are the top of their industry. The Boeing Dreamliner just took its first flight this week over two years late.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34445500..._a_crossroads/

Also, its unlikely that ballots issues would pass if the worst-case estimates for cost were used, so there's a bit of politics there as well.

In general though, I don't think building transportation infrastructure is a bad thing, it always seems to generate far more business than it costs. The question in the case of the bullet train would be what would it offer that air travel doesn't already offer?