I'm not one with a hard and fast opinion of where, or whether, CAHSR should be built, but I can see what they plan to do in the situation they find themselves. They have a known, limited amount of funds. They know that they can build from Bakersfield to San Jose and via Caltrain to San Francisco. The one thing they don't have enough for is the Pacheco Pass tunnel. However that is not on the immediate build list. They assumed that there would be a change in Congress. There was. If they get some federal funds, as in the past, they can build the tunnel.

Meanwhile service can start from Madera, where there can be a cross-platform transfer to The San Joaquins, to Bakersfield. This will allow the great majority of Californians who have never ridden high speed rail to actually experience it. Whether or not that will swing the public their way remains to be seen.

If it does, and by then the administration will have changed, the rest of the system can be built. Note that this is not a prediction, just my interpretation of their plan. Will it work? We shall all see.