You certainly can be opposed to the present HSR business plan, but it helps to understand their reasoning. The bond issue was to "initiate" the construction of a high speed rail system. The original plan was to use the bond money and federal funds to build the most glaring gap in our rail system in California, the Tehachapi gap. The problem is that the Republicans control congress and feel that *any* rail expenditure is a boondoggle and didn't provide the money.

What to do? Well, with the money at hand you can't do all that tunneling so go north instead. Nine billion will get you from San Jose (not Chowchilla) to a point north of Bakersfield. The fraction of a billion for ancillary rail will electrify Caltrain (among other things), which gets your trains to San Francisco. And you can tell the people in the southern San Joaquin, "I thought you were opposed to this? Well if you really want it to go all the way to Bakersfield why don't you ask your congressmen for some money?" hint hint

That gets you an initial operating segment, San Francisco - Bakersfield. Now you can get a private operator, which has always been the plan, and that gets you income. With income, and perhaps a change of congress, you get continued construction. And that may get you your goodies, just not right now.