Bob: much of what you see in CAHSR is a result of the way the politically-designed (mainly to fund a few commuter and BART projects, which did happen) Proposition was written. I would challenge you to come up with something more useful given its constraints and, especially, the remaining funding (assuming no further construction contracts). I do expect that a separate passenger line from Madera to Bakersfield would be part of it, because at least in Fresno and Hanford it's needed, if perhaps not designed for 220mph in the Real World.

Just for jollies, consider: the currently expected cost (by CAHSR) of completing the SF-LA line with non-HSR connections into the downtown stations (and therefore probably not technically meeting the 2 1/2-hour mandate city-center to city-center; though possibly if considering, say, San Jose and Burbank as close-enough stand-ins for SF and LA) is about $65B. Bill Gates is the richest person in Forbes' list right now; his net worth is about $65B. Not sure if that includes his Foundation. But anyway, there it is: if Bill Gates could instantly liquidate most of his fortune (leaving, perhaps, $10B for a cozy retirement), combined with the Bond money, he could build the CAHSR "starter line." He is very unlikely to do that. So even if we cut things off at the end of current construction (the cost of which, around Fresno at least, is in the ballpark, with inflation, guesstimated for a BNSF bypass about 25 years ago), and go Hyperloop for the flyover mandate, what will be needed to build out something else that's useful?