WSJ’s Payne: Bullet Train Boondoggle
From the Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail… (Congrats to FR blogger Adam Probolsky for his firm’s mention)
Bullet Train Boondoggle
Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin turned down plans to build high-speed rail lines in their cash-strapped states for fear of cost over-runs and delays. But an updated business plan from the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows that those fears are turning into reality for the Golden State — which has made the development of bullet trains a priority.
A new business plan released last week estimated that the cost of the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles high-speed line will reach $98.5 billion dollars. That’s three times more than the $33 billion projected when California voters approved $9 billion in bond funding in 2008, and twice as expensive as was estimated just two years ago. The line was also supposed to be completed by 2020. But the new plan estimates that it won’t be fully operational until more than a decade later in 2033. Construction hasn’t even begun yet.… Read More