I make a distinction between two kinds of cost increase. First, the agency says, we'll build this on earthen berm with some overpasses, cost of the ROW is x, cost of the overpasses is y, the rails and catenary are z, total cost x+y+z. Then, later on, owing to inflation or an unexpected shortage of catenary, let us say, the cost is revised and is now higher. This is to be expected.

That's not what we are seeing. The line was designed on earthen berm, the voters were asked to cough up the dough, which they did, planning went forward, and only then did the local natives begin to get restless about this earthen berm idea. OK, says CHSRA, we're easy, we'll just redesign it on elevated viaduct -- at, naturally, a substantial increase in cost. This is not normal, and shows that the whole thing was done sloppily from the beginning.