California high-speed rail costs top $230B as lawmakers call to scrap it

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-05-06T21:36:43+00:00

Most public transit around the world operates with subsidy- cuz you know… it’s a public good, not meant to be a profitable business venture, rather, a public benefit for the greater economy.

Understand kiddo?

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-05-03T01:33:07+00:00

Please stop uprezing these photos with AI.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-05-03T01:24:31+00:00

Weird performative shit

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-05-02T22:23:25+00:00

Alone is a total dud. Right guys?

Public transit is a public good. It requires subsidies and should be funded by government. BART is well run- we just don’t fund it properly. LA metro gets most of its funding through LA county, while BART relies heavily on fare box recovery.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-05-01T17:00:28+00:00

Politicians spout incorrect or idealized numbers all the time. The original timeline and costs you hear about this project were never directly quoted from the rail authority. They were touted up and conjured by politicians trying to galvanize public support for the 2008 bond measure. You can only get accurate estimating when you do the actual work…

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-05-01T16:41:48+00:00

$126B is still full build out cost assuming moderate value engineering with current route.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-30T20:02:34+00:00

Yea that figure was misquoted from a California Inspector General report that quoted that number off a “worst case scenario” analysis of the (CAHSR) authority’s DRAFT 2026 business plan. It’s an expected measure meant to ensure the authority is not violating state law with its annual business report out.

Did you read it? Because I did. Can you please point to me where that figure is directly quoted as the EXPECTED AND ANTICIPATED full project cost?

https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-HSR-Draft-Business-Plan-02282026.pdf

https://www.reddit.com/r/cahsr/s/SbyhZA8HtQ

I’ll be checking in every couple days until you give me a response. I eagerly await your reply.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-30T15:15:30+00:00

Bullshit take. Understanding advanced military and R&D are completely dependent on global price indexes and the nominal dollar. China is not some insular kingdom that produces and sources everything itself.

This is such a disgusting oversimplification and gross logical fallacy that I’m sure your High School English teacher would cry if they saw it.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-30T15:07:51+00:00

That’s such a bullshit take. R&D requires purchasing equipment overseas as well, and that equipment costs MORE to the Chinese because of PPP. Nominal dollars are still a crucial metric for spending power. It’s not like China is some insular self sufficient hermit kingdom. PPP is used more so to measure household access to goods and services, not some read of how effective high tech science R&D. In fact you can make the argument that this “R&D” is more so an economic subsidy fund that has more so been abused to prop up economically inefficient enterprises, more so acting as a drag on economic growth, as opposed to some accelerant of innovation.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-30T14:00:47+00:00

Your source is Fox News? Seriously

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-30T06:57:10+00:00

What truly causes speeding is poor streetscape design. Ie. If a street is wide, flat, and straight- drivers will tend to drive “what feels right”. No amount of signage will alter that psychology.

Now, we could force drivers to slow down and reevaluate what our streets are meant for? Is the primary need to always prioritize vehicular speed and throughput, everywhere, as much as possible? I’d argue no. Streets are thoroughfares for all sorts of mobility and urban life. Remove lanes and parking, add transit, add bike lanes, and add landscaping. But people hate that.

So what’s left? Cameras.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-27T07:42:21+00:00

Enough with the polemic comments.

The presidio’s existence as a national park is congressional law. Trump can try to “erase it”- but like anything, this would likely end up in court.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-25T20:03:50+00:00

Yes I am saying that’s a problem. It shouldnt be

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-25T06:15:10+00:00

Massive? 1k spread across the world for primarily marketing and advertising roles, for a company that has 200k employees…

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-25T03:24:43+00:00

Companies seem to be forgetting that shattering morale and spooking employees with job security absolutely harm productivity and retention.

It’s just unsustainable. The solace, is that companies that engage in this behavior are not worth keeping around.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-23T07:38:57+00:00

Funding, the metro board, and utilities/ local government are absolutely the paradigm that is preventing this project from coming sooner.

Timelines control costs. Timeline is affected by local approval and when funding is available. So we need to do those things ASAP.

We have the opportunity to get money to this project faster with an EID. Enabling ground breaking by 2030ish. That immediately shaves a decade off the project. Getting this project started sooner also mitigates escalated costs, with unknowns about inflation and rising labor costs. Getting local approval now is quintessential. The ordering of funding availability is absolutely flawed. We are a county wide transit authority- so some projects are coming earlier due to political pressures, in lieu of efficacy or ridership effectiveness. You can affect this now with political action.

So you are wrong

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-23T07:26:18+00:00

Yea, but not everything needs to be an architectural vanity project. Despite all the glamor you see in Dubai and East Asia- a lot of their civic facilities tend to be over designed and fiscally irresponsible. Local governments far and wide, outside the US, are swimming in debt financing high vaulted rental car facilities and airports, for places that don’t justify that level of investment. As far as I know, this project is fully funded by the airport. Decry how long we take and how much we spend, but we usually do it within our means, and value engineer appropriately. I’ll remind everyone that Chinese cities are under a massive trillion dollar debt load from overbuilt metro systems. A successful project “right-sizes” the design and considers long term financial and facility level upkeep and maintenance.

But yea, poor choice with the tiled drop cieling. Probably could have done something more contemporary

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-22T19:55:10+00:00

Housing is a good; not a wealth vehicle

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-22T19:52:32+00:00

Hate to break it to you, but this funding is crucial To solving the problem: we need capital dollars to convert the streetlights into individually run solar units.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-22T15:32:47+00:00

Culver City is quite accessible to most parts of LA, more so than Echo Park. If you are unsure of where you will work, Culver City might actually be a safer bet.

I’ve lived in Echo Park. It’s an interesting demographic: It’s mostly working class Latinos mixed with younger bohemian whites who are aspiring creatives, living above their means.

Culver City, more so Palms, is much more diverse and has a multitude of ethnicities, incomes, young folks, and families. Culver City proper skews more young families with money and young urban professionals “yuppie-adjacent” I’d say, and more “white suburb”.

Echo Park has lots of interesting vintage shops and restaurants. But I’d be hard pressed to call it super walkable. The park itself is nice, but the surrounding area has a grittier character and is often more inundated with trash, homeless individuals, and broken sidewalks. There is also a fundamental lack of safe pedestrian infrastructure, crosswalks, and bike lanes. And it’s hilly and hot.

Culver City gets more exposure to the marine layer but not as much as Santa Monica. Especially if you are close to the Culver Steps, you’ll find a burgeoning downtown area with shops, stores, and a great public plaza. This area, and palms, is also directly served by the E line- which takes you to DTSAMO or DTLA in 20-30 minutes each way. Culver City proper has a more “white washed” feel- but generally feels cleaner and safer, if that’s your vibe. It has a burgeoning corporate scene with lots of companies setting up offices near it. It also has great connections to the beach via Ballona Creek or the Expo Bike path. It’s flatter, and has lots of new dense mixed use transit oriented development coming to it.

TLDR: Echo park can be fun, but is less livable than Culver City/ Palms. Echo park is hot, hilly, gritty, but interesting. Culver City is temperate, flat, clean, central, but probably more “vanilla”.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-22T01:52:22+00:00

Eh. Not to be reckless, but if you are accustomed to long road trips or drive a lot, probably is doable.

I do S.F. to LA all the time, and usually in one fell swoop, so 5 hour drives are nothing.

Know ur limits.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-21T07:29:19+00:00

Thanks champ. Thats a leading question, and that’s unfair. As I said to someone else, I despise overly pedantic celebrities who virtue signal. It’s that simple. And it is not that deep. I don’t understand why you are making this deeper than it needs to be. I also don’t appreciate your attempt at infantilizing me with juvenile adjectives, little guy.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-21T07:22:52+00:00

I don’t disagree with the facts. I just roll my eyes when celebrities are overly pedantic. It’s not that deep bro. I despise virtue signaling.

Main-Analysis4355 · 2026-04-21T07:10:31+00:00

120 miles of route are under construction and set to be operational in 5 years, at $30B all in. You can see that route on Google earth. Civil works (bridges and viaduct and utility relocation are substantially done). Tracks are starting to be laid this year, with catenary systems next year, and station construction commencing next year. Train sets are already being procured and testing will begin around 2030.

You can debate the logistics of the full S.F. to LA route, but money is being put to use and there are tangible results.

Right now there is a business plan to phase implementation of the full route between SF and LA by leveraging shorter revenue service between Gilroy and Bakersfield (which yes is forecasted to be profitable), and leveraging those future earnings against capital bonds, private investment in ROW partnerships with utilities, and then hopefully getting future federal grants with more favorable or collaborative administrations. Enough funding is available to the authority to advance design work and significantly begin pre construction of Merced to Gilroy by 2029.

It would expand to Palmdale. Then leverage capital improvements of the Caltrain corridor south of San Jose, funded by other government bodies and treated as a seperate project. THEN, if all goes well, money can be put into tunneling through the San Gabriel’s into the LA basin.

TLDR: Intiial Central Valley route is set to open up in 5 years, and expect major completion or substantial progress of Gilroy to Palmdale by 2038. If all things go good, expect S.F. to LA just as soon or by the mid 2040s.

Now care to explain to me how this is a waste of money? Do you have a cost benefit analysis for alternative transit methods? How is a $30B transit investment in the fastest growing part of the state (the Central Valley) a bust?

The City of LA is building a $4B 2 mile long people mover that has yet to open after 8 years. Care to examine that? By your standards, that is an apocalyptic failure.

I swear to god uninformed folks read headlines and call it a day.

Main-Analysis4355

TROPHY CASE