Posted on Jan 19, 2018
California's bullet train (and biggest boondoggle) is over budget by billions
1.07K
8
6
3
3
0
Trains
Transportation
Future
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 3
2
2
0
No real surprise here. I understand that a large portion of this fat juicy project is in the hands of Pelosi's husband. So a US Senators spouse gets a contract from the state his wife represents? Am I wrong in believing this to be a conflict of interest (anywhere but kaliphornya)??
(2)
(0)
2
2
0
Sgt Wayne Wood
Yeah... what i can’t understand is how can they be over budget putting a railroad through the San Joaquin Valley... straight & flat as far as the eye can see...
(0)
(0)
1
1
0
Actually most of the Thanks for this go to Governor Brown who was warned repeatedly on costs prior to his grandoise plans to tackle one of the longest commute routes in the State of California. He should have attempted SFO to Sacremento OR LA to San Diego first. Instead he goes for SFO to LA and includes massive emminent domain land acquisitions (instead of following power line and highway right of ways) on top of that he found a need to drill tunnels under three of California's Mountain ranges (as if they were insurmountable like the Swiss Alps........their not). All that escalated costs, throw on the Cecil B Demille cast of new employees and you really have a sinkhole for money.
(1)
(0)
Sgt Wayne Wood
The first stage is Bakersfield (near the northern end of the grapevine) north to Stockton (or closer to Los Banos)
That’s a straight shot...
Don’t forget Harry Reid wanted LA to Vegas but couldn’t get the appropriation...
That’s a straight shot...
Don’t forget Harry Reid wanted LA to Vegas but couldn’t get the appropriation...
(0)
(0)
SPC Erich Guenther
Sgt Wayne Wood - That is true and if you look that up Governor Brown again intervened in the project and personally choose that as the first segment because he thought the costs would be lower and the public would swallow the project better. Yet the emminent domain was used rampantly as well as right of way elevation, etc. It was a relatively flat and inexpensive route to build on but the State found a way to drive up costs substantially. BTW, High Speed Rail when it significantly improves access to markets, adds to local wages and improves GDP. LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS among other Economics Schools have studied it (see link). There is a whole Spatial Economics theory around HSR construction and addition. One reason China went hog wild with HSR contruction (though one could argue that China went overboard).
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29430/
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29430/
From periphery to core: economic adjustments to high speed rail - LSE Research Online
Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M. and Feddersen, Arne (2010)From periphery to core: economic adjustments to high speed rail. London School of Economics & University of Hamburg. (Unpublished)
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google