A year old news story says that CHSR would not stop in Los Banos (a 2 hour drive south of SF) because it would promote sprawl:
Quote:KALW 91.7
Prop 1A — the ballot measure that approved high-speed rail in California — forbids constructing a stop in Los Banos. It was a compromise to get environmental groups like the Sierra Club to support the proposition. According to them, a stop in Los Banos would lead to “excessive urban sprawl."
I don't buy that reasoning. Yes, the city of Los Banos would grow, but it would be dense growth. Rail is the antidote of sprawl.
By their reasoning there should be no CHSR stops within 200 miles of SF. Craziness.