Why do I get the very strong feeling that the brighter minds are working for the watchdog group than the rail authority? Like wildly more bright....

This project is looking more and more like a loser - too bad they can't divert some of the funds to help save CalTrain service up and down the peninsula - something we know people use on a daily basis.

In the entire history of mankind...has there even been ONE public works project that came in on budget? Why would we be surprised this one won't?

So how much of our $9 billion have they already pissed away?

We need a repeal proposition to end this project. It will never be built for anything like the budget and then will consume money to operate. Of course it's not needed as we have several airlines competing to fly us quickly to L A and actually to the entire world.

What I'd like to know is how expensive this project should be based on benchmarks from similar systems around the world, and why the fact that it is expensive - which these projects always are - causes people to call it a "boondoggle." I'd think that a "boondoggle" would be something that a) costs much more than similar projects and b) is unwanted or useless. At this point, we don't know the answer to (a) except that people say just keep building freeways instead when oil is running out. And the voters have spoken that they see it IS useful so (b) is not a valid argument. Until we have relative cost facts, I'd say all the criticism is purely grandstanding.

"It will never be built for anything like the budget and then will consume money to operate."

Yes, that's true of every rail system in the world. Doesn't keep them from being built or providing tremendous economic and lifestyle benefits for the people where they are build. As I've pointed out many times on here, farebox recovery is not a criterion for successful public transit, just as it is not used for freeways (paid for by taxes) or airports (paid for by taxes.)

"Of course it's not needed as we have several airlines competing to fly us quickly to L A and actually to the entire world."

The major failures of planning in public policy are the result of assuming that all circumstances will always remain the same. By 2020, when the system will be operational, the world demand for oil will have far exceeded oil production and all the calculations of air fares driving costs will be worthless. I guarantee you that when oil is $400 a barrel, the countries that have put in HSR will be far better off than us. As a user of HSR in Asia and Europe, I invariably get to my business destination far faster by HSR than by plane. Those of you who haven't tried this probably can't imagine it, but it is so.