If you could get the costs down to something reasonable, you'd start to see individual states (not just California) building HSR on their own. It wouldn't require help from the federal government. Thus wouldn't be nearly as subject to elections going the wrong way and killing projects every 2 years. For that matter, I don't understand why the people building CHSR (or seemingly any transit anywhere in the US) don't go to the Transit Costs project themselves, regardless of what the federal government does.
If you could get the costs down to something reasonable, you'd start to see individual states (not just California) building HSR on their own. It wouldn't require help from the federal government. Thus wouldn't be nearly as subject to elections going the wrong way and killing projects every 2 years. For that matter, I don't understand why the people building CHSR (or seemingly any transit anywhere in the US) don't go to the Transit Costs project themselves, regardless of what the federal government does.
Oh absolutely, for all of CAHSR's problems they are building stuff, and for flatter states they could build a lot if costs came down!
All transit project leaders need to at minimum, read Bent Flyvbjerg's book
As much as I like the book, I think it's a bit too conventional I think.
What aspect of it is?
Perun did a YouTube video last Sunday on How Procurement Destroys Armies. Many of his thoughts apply to rail projects.