I haven’t posted on California’s bullet train in some time (I’m no longer a resident of the Bronze Golden State), but it’s time to once more post about the train to nowhere. In theory, this train will connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. The first part of the route being built is between Shafter and Merced. Shafter is about 18 miles northwest of Bakersfield. How many riders do you think are interested in taking that segment when (or better put, if) it opens?
The whole idea of the train makes little sense given that airlines fly regularly between Southern and Northern California. The price-tag of the train has gone from about $10 billion to over $60 billion; meanwhile, funding from the federal government has dried up.
Yesterday the Los Angeles Times released a story that notes that almost every high-speed rail line needs taxpayer subsidies, a direct contradiction of what the high speed rail authority has stated. And this gem was noted from an April hearing:
Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) asked [rail authority Chairman Dan] Richard, “Do you know of any high-speed rail operations around the world that make substantial profit?”
Richard answered, “Actually all of them, virtually all of them, make operating profit.” He defined that as being able to cover costs after the expenditure of capital to build the systems.
“Ha, OK,” Patterson said.
The Spanish study showed that 3 of 111 high speed rail lines cover their costs, or 2.7%. Or better put, 97.3% do not cover their costs.
I’m glad I’m no longer a California taxpayer.
Tags: Train.to.Nowhere