It's amazing that politicians can screw up for so many years then pat themselves on the back when they finally propose to take the course that was obvious to everyone else. If these people had built the Transcontinental Railroad they would have built it from Reno to Laramie leaving wagons to haul freight from both ends. Then wondered why the rest of the nation didn't like what they had done. It's logical and more profitable to start at the ends where the population bases are and build out to meet in the center. If money is never found to complete the system then at least the ends can be used and have a useful return on investment.

There was a throw-away statement way down in the article that I thought was interesting: "The Metrolink and Caltrain systems are part of the original high-speed network, meaning that upgrading them toward ultimate high-speed service would satisfy the requirements of federal grants and the $9 billion bond act of 2008, supporters of the plan say." I know there is a lot of dislike for the current federal administration, but it sounds like by having the FRA threaten to withhold 920 million dollars it finally forced the CAHSRA to change their direction and actually focus on the portions of the plan that will actually be used by people.