Well said, SP 5103. I agree with all 3 of your points, however I believe # 2 will be the hardest to overcome. Years of focus on highway construction by California legislators have made it too convenient to simply hop in the car & go. That the highways are not totally grid - locked, is a testament to the efforts of Coaster, Metrolink, CalTrain, ACE & BART, among others, who have been able to get commuters to give up their cherished cars.
Why not use the remaining bond monies to buy the Coast Line, & upgrade it as much as possible for Amtrak California service ??? The day is fast approaching when EwePee forces this to happen anyways. No, the route won't work for true high speed rail; however a detour around SLO & Cuesta Grade, which Espee surveyed over 100 years ago, would speed up conventional trains, as would trackage improvements in the urban terminal areas. A 6 to 7 hour running time between L.A. & the Bay Area would be quite competitive with current highway speeds, and only 2 to 3 hours slower than the total time from air terminal to air terminal, strip searches included. And how about a return of The Lark, overnight every night, with modern SlumberCoaches ??? Amtrak & Caltrans may have had the right idea The Spirit of California; they just had it 25 years too soon.