Much faster, cheaper, and comfortable to take HSR between major metros a few hundred miles apart than fly. For a trip like Osaka to Tokyo it’s a no brainer, the airport experience fails in every category. The issue with CAHSR is that it’s right at the margin of economic sense. LA and SF are huge metros, but they are far enough apart that airfare will still be competitive for many even if this project succeeds.
What if we stopped subsidizing fuel costs? What if we accounted for environmental externality?
California HSR is forward looking. Every state in the nation should be building and expanding public transit infrastructure. It’s an existential necessity.
