I think their plan is still to go to LA, since they have to go through Union Station to get to Anaheim which is supposed to be the end of the starter line on the south, and to get the serious city-center traffic and other connections. But the location and construction problems are significant south of Burbank so, as with starting in the Valley where construction is relatively easy and inexpensive, they're leaving the harder parts for later or last. Which of course means that things could change by the time they get there.

Partially agree re. McCarthy: he can't take away money that's already there, only what might be done in the future OR THAT HASN'T BEEN OBLIGATED YET. He could ram through something or attach it to a must-do Bill that prohibits DOT from obligating any further funding even if it's appropriated. Hence the push to get things approved for construction so everything that was appropriated before can be locked in (obligated). CHSRA has come pretty close to doing that.

Here's a question: how would a private organization like the Texas crowd do it, assuming that they have to get the majority of their money on the open market rather than from the govt.? I suspect that they would have started someplace else, where they could get some new traffic right away even for just a short distance (say, Burbank-Mojave or LA-Anaheim, or even a LAX-BUR-ONT-SNA shuttle or loop) rather than essentially relocating the occasional Valley Amtrak. Not that the Fresno work isn't needed - it is - it's just not going to bring new traffic out of the woodwork. But when it comes to the hard parts, they might be as bad as the current crowd because it's just hard to put a solid number up front on construction in the Tehachapis, or for that matter between the Valley and San Jose - cost estimates in those areas are informed guesstimates at best until you start to actually move rock.

Next question: Desert Xpress seemed to have a good package, but when it came time to get construction funding there was a recession on so they tried getting a FRA loan. FRA had the money, but Congress (McCarthy's friends) killed it. They really weren't asking for much money in the present scheme of things, though (what, $5-6B? Half of the Bay Bridge? A carpool lane on the 405?). So what ever happened to them, and why haven't they gotten private money since the economy recovered at least on Wall Street?