of course, you are free to disbelieve ANY history. Let me however suggest some documentable facts. 1.SP paid for the SRI study of the economics of passenger service which basically said it is structurally unprofitable. 2.as to SP and Bechtel connections, all one need do is look at SP Company Annual reports from the era when the guage choice was made. Steven D, and Steven D Jr were members of SP's BOD--senior was Chairman. conspiracy no, conflict of interest? obvious unless you are a defense lawyer. 3. SP was so desperate to get rid of passenger service on the Peninsula that they offered to buy vans for every rider--as reported at the time in the Chronicle in trade for abandonnment. The jokeis that the freight business on that line today doesn't cover costs.
We are lucky that the stripping of the assets "hidden" in the holding company as a result of the SP-SF merger breakdown left the RR so broke that they sold the Peninsula ROW to raise cash. Unless,ofcourse, if one doesn't like the massive success of current Caltrain service annually setting ridership records.

As to BART wanting to take over everything, that certainly was the attitude for years, aided and abetted by MTC. The "reprogramming" of Dumbarton funding, $91 million IIRC, to cover BA RT cost overruns on the incredibly overpriced and poorly designed SFO extension is, again, an historical fact although interpretation is subject to one's belief systems.

So, if you don't like recitation of history, so be it. You help us repeat the mistakes.