California’s High-Speed Train to Nowhere: What Went Wrong?

On November 4, 2008, California voters voted in favor of Proposition 1A which effectively brought high speed rail in California from concept to reality. Lawmakers pitched the system as a “safe, convenient, affordable and reliable alternative to driving and high gas prices,” with the ability to “provide good-paying jobs and improve California’s economy while reducing air pollution, global warming greenhouse gases, and our dependence on foreign oil” (California Supplemental Official Voter Information Guide, 2008). The project came with several guarantees, including a 200+ MPH transportation system capable of transporting passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 2 hours, 40 minutes or less and $1 billion per year operating costs offset by fare revenue. Unfortunately, nearly nine and a half years later, we don’t have much to show for it other than lawsuits, mismanagement, delays and severe cost overruns.

Some fear that California – the same state that took nearly 20 years to retrofit the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge with a nearly 2,500% cost overrun – may have grossly underestimated yet another massive infrastructure project. In this video, I breakdown California High Speed Rail’s timeline of events, what derailed the project, and what an uncertain future might hold for what some consider a massive governmental boondoggle.

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[ExploreAlways]

Maybe high-speed rail in California was just too ambitious of a project. What are your thoughts on how the state should proceed? Should it continue forward, or cut its losses?

[believensee]

The busiest freeway in LA, the 405 was expanded and made ZERO difference. We need alternatives. We need a train service.

[TerryB]

Tutor Perini - lowest bid and lowest technical score - sounds like they're saying "We won't charge much but then again, we don't know much."

[qjtvaddict]

The only thing that will save high speed rail is to make it exempt from environmental reviews and immune to environmental lawsuits public transport projects should not have to be reviewed by environmental standards

[Beau_T_McBoatface]

Just imagine the amount of affordable housing that could have been built with that money. Oh wait a minute, its California. With all the red tape, it will be nowhere near affordable.

[daniel]

High Speed rail, needs guarantee right of way owners be damn! compensation is to be provided not negotiated.... ...Want something bad enough....sacrifice!

[SFKelvin]

They knew they underbudgeted it, but that was the strategy. Back in the 60's during the SWP bond, Gov. Pat Brown learned about Huey Long and a road project. Pat Brown said, "why don't we do that: build a little here, a little there, and they'll have to finish it." Well, his (national security asset) son Jerry and (national security asset) Arnold said - it worked for the Water Project, let's do it again. Unfortunately, they didn't address the more fundamental problems that had really shown up during the Bay Bridge replacement and they chose a corridor that was stupid - trying to be everything to everybody. Ugh, it's such a logical thing to do and they could have done it in the 70's, but the State has be come a pay-to-play cesspool. California doesn't have a mafia but it does have organized crime, and these types of projects don't work with the leeches.

[wes.]

0:19 MUSIC TOO LOUD and ANNOYING. Retired railroad conductor So Cal 37 years DON'T BUILD THE TRAIN. SCRAP IT TODAY !

[kenjimatsuoka]

Japanese National Railways' high-speed rail called the Shinkansen, was privatized in 1987 and broken into six regional rail companies and one freight company. Five of those companies – JR East, JR Central, JR West, JR Kyushu, and JR Freight are profitable. JR East, West, Central, and Kyushu are publicly trade.

[Dog.soldier]

Designed by voters, politicians and bureaucrats. What could go wrong?

[cornsyrup]

Come on folks, remember BART, it started back in the 60s and 411, 000 people ride it everyday, 118 million a year. and guess what it 's not finished yet, so lets forget the High Speed thing, how about transportation from San Francisco to the Central Valley, instead of paying 4000 dollars a month for rent, how about 1500 a month in the valley, thousands of cars travel from the Bay Area to the valley every day, lets reduce pollution keep the train on tract.

[michaelgreen]

I really want this high speed train, it would connect the central part of California with the Bay Area to the north and LA to the south. Interstate 5 is a joke, it can take up to 6 to 7 hours to get to San Francisco from LA. We need high speed trains not only in California but a network of high speed trains throughout the country. The train burns less fossil fuels than cars and jets and you get to see parts of the country you would never see by air.

[richardrose]

The project should be cancelled because, as was pointed out in the video, there is too little demand for passenger rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco. California would be better off diverting funds designated for CAHSR to light rail (commuter rail) and bus mass transit. The latter would much more likely reach the desired goals of less reliance on cars and less pollution.

[gumamell]

Where is the !Billion now?. Oh I know it's in some Politicians pocket.

[rollingalong]

I attended several early state-level planning sessions regarding California’s proposed HSR. Even then, the proposed ‘smoke and mirrors’ cost projections, and the ‘as the birds fly’ route maps, should have scuppered the folly. To be cast as high speed, projected travel times from A to B were grossly unrealistic. Then ‘All Aboard’ the bureaucrats and politicians. Costs escalated as routes were expanded to a more alphabetically inclusive A to Z. More stops, more stations. Gotta make those pork deliveries. The Great Train Robbery Revisited. Watch out San Diego, you’re next.

[EugeneAyindolmah]

California simply needs to learn how to manage projects.

[IcelanderUSer]

They should have focused on yearly cost vs total cost. Say 4.5 billion per year for 10 years. They could have also not focused so much on HS. Perhaps just calling it a vital rail link, leaving out the speed bs. Basically they should have convinced people why they needed it. What benefits would it create. Like how the rail line would unlock the economic benefits that have driven the insane cities growth over the last 20 years.

[MultiMolly]

In Barcelona there's a superior design for an elevated rail, suspended between the tracks with the wheels located on the car's sides, it cannot derail. The tracks are strung between supports in the shape of a softly curved capital Y, every 100 meters or so; and have a minuscule footprint compared to the engineering necessary for ground track. It can cross uneven terrain like phone polls do. The installation price is one tenth of common track, so we might have enough now! Pass it on....I read about it decades ago in "GEO". It could be solar powered, as well as rev its own power on downward slopes.

[hwhack]

Incompetence.
Things like this are why I'm leaving California.

[sd]

They built it wrong, they should have built a segment that was shorter and likely to make more profit, such as LA To San Diego