It would have been great to do something about the gap between LA & Bakersfield. But realistically ... with $9B or so in bonds and another $5B from the Feds (previous Administration) and a $B or so from cap n trade, there would have been enough money only to start, not finish, the job. And when the new guys came in, they would shut it down (as they're doing with what's out there now) with nothing to show for the money spent but some unfinished holes in hills.

The stuff being built in the Central Valley does have some salvage value. As an interim thing, Amtrak can use it (and we can see if Cal Cars really can operate at 110 or 125). In Fresno at least, it could be sold/leased/trackage-righted (is that a word?) to BNSF to get their trains out of the middle of town, with a little extra work (funded by BNSF, though the city might be willing to kick in a little given the benefits) to connect it to their yards and tracks which it's right next to anyway. It also would be a good test track for HSR equipment if electrics are installed - probably better than Pueblo because longer and straighter. It's kind of an expensive toy for all of that, but it at least has some potential use. Think of it like BART building the test track in Concord before proceeding with the rest of the system, on a large scale, though BART at least had a reasonable prospect of enough money to complete the rest of the system.

Given all that, it's still a waste of money that could have been better spent on improving the conventional lines for faster/better service. But Quentin & friends didn't build the bond measure that way, so we're living with what we got.