Now about this high speed rail thing...
Author: Commenter
Date: 07-16-2017 - 15:18
There have been many heated discussions about whether or not CHSR should or should not be built, or where it should or should not be built, or what technology should or should not be used, but I'm not going there. I'm just going to give a summary of where things are at the moment.
The Republican representatives from the Central Valley have done everything they could to stop HSR in California. They have pretty much stopped any future cash from the federal government, at least until the Democrats get their turn in power. History has shown that the party in power is not a permanent condition of life.
The management of CHSR has counted the cash. They know that they can build from Bakersfield to San Jose and effectively San Francisco. The same Republican representatives tried to block electrification of Caltrain because it provides that link (along with other benefits).
So what do they do when this is built and they have almost run out of money? Well there will be a continuous flow of cash from cap and trade, but that would make construction very slow. However there is another source of funds. They intend to lease the finished track to an operator. That will produce lease income. Will this be enough? I don't have access to all the data and I doubt anyone on this site does either. We will just have to wait, watch and see.