The Chronicle piece referred to above was basically a Fresno Bee story and a fair cut above the usual "Whee, I rode the train!" reporting.

The Bee reporter talked to some Spanish rail people and asked them about the California plan. They said that it didn't seem to make much sense to drag in all these smaller cities, such as Fresno; better to connect the large cities, SF and LA, directly, and maybe add in Fresno in a later phase. Gutsy of them to print that in the Fresno newspaper.