Submitted by gammapsi05 t3_11b54xb in UpliftingNews
Iz-kan-reddit t1_j9xhkwi wrote
Reply to comment by SilverNicktail in High-Speed Rail Project Will Create Over 10,000 Jobs in California by gammapsi05
>End of the decade is the aim date.
That's foe only the first section, which has been pared way back.
SilverNicktail t1_j9xwyt5 wrote
The "first section" is the longest section by a very long way, though.
FightOnForUsc t1_j9yo7l2 wrote
And also the easiest by far…
SilverNicktail t1_ja0j9sn wrote
Because they should have started with the hardest part and gotten more bogged down?
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
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/
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)
[deleted] t1_ja1yxe1 wrote
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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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