Even worse that that;

since legislators legislated, voters voted ($10 billion in bonds), the Washington money tree shook out billions more, private and foreign investors were wooed for the rest, all based upon deliberately fraudulent reports; can that legally invalidate all the above actions, especially the bonds and the federal dollars. Certainly, it breaches any potential investor confidence in the project.

Since any rail project in Kaliphonia has enough enemies already - court action to invalidate it all - seems likely to me.

But then again, maybe square one is where we need to go back to anyway! Then we could go and do it right this time - incrementally. Get it started (in revenue service) as quickly as possible; with as minimal as possible investment, re-using stuff we already have when practical. Get it going - then grow it and increase speeds from there.

That is how every single rail passenger service in the World was built. They all grew and evolved over time. They certainly did not go directly from dusty stage coach trails to 300mph trains every few minutes, as we seem to be trying to do. Even now, the TGV uses conventional track at conventional speeds anywhere near urban areas, such as along the Peninsula. The likes of the TGV and the ICE, and even the Shinkansen, complement and feed off of extensive conventional services, which run parallel, in many places on the same righto'way. They are symbiotic. HSR won't work without this base. And this base will see it's greatest success, when we finally do complement it with ultra high speed services.

Even if the Kaliphony nitwits at CHSRA don't get it, that's why the bulk of the federal highpeed money is going to conventional services, to put it in place ubiquitously and speed it up to 110 mph - first.

OPB