You're certainly correct about other ways to invest in California railroads (and transportation in general) that would be more quickly useful than HSR for similar money. BOB2 has ranted on that for decades, I think. But we has what we has, and need to figure out what to do with it.

Realistically, Bakersfield to LA (or even just to Palmdale, connecting with Metrolink there) would cost at least $30B - IOW what the whole thing was supposed to cost according to Kopp et al when they promoted the starter bonds. Anybody who believed that number was clueless, but then that more or less describes the voting public. Mountains and tunnels through same just cost a lot of money to cross with trains, high speed or otherwise.