Obviously Stokes and Bechtel-SP must have gotten someone on the engineering staff to recommend broad gauge. They would have had to cover their tails over such a radical and controversial departure from common practice.

The fact that Kopp and Co. are now prepared to ditch the Transbay Terminal demonstrates that the HSR honchos can make substantial changes to the plan as proposed to the voters. They need to maintain that attitude of flexibility about the whole scheme imho. Once the people on the Peninsula realize how much property values will be reduced by that elevated blight the HSR wants the revolt will only grow. If they insist on elevated they need to reevaluate the 101 routing as an alternative.

I still suggest that the least contested and quite possibly the least expensive option would be a brand new and strictly separate I-5 200mph line even if it meant going to Sac and not SF.