I’m not sure I’d call it a “scam”. Perhaps it qualifies as an “interesting, but financially impractical idea”. There’s no denying it could be really nice to just hop a train to glide up to LA and avoid all that horrible traffic to go to Staples Center or see a show. And who hasn’t opted to drive to the Bay Area rather than deal with flying? There are other countries that have successfully implemented HSR, and transportation is obviously an important role of government. Public highways are far, far more efficient than a makeshift patchwork of private roads could possibly be.
All that said, it’s quite possible the price tag is just too high to make it worthwhile for the benefit HSR would provide. Unfortunately because the plan is constantly shifting, it’s tough to get up to date, quality *objective* analysis. I’m glad there is a careful, drawn out planning process. I do hope some version of the LA/SD line gets done in the next 5-10 years, which seems pretty feasible.
