California’s $128BN Failed High-Speed Rail
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- čas přidán 7. 07. 2024
- California's High-Speed Rail is $100 Billion over budget. America is building their first full-scale high-speed rail line that would connect San Francisco and Los Angeles. In this video, we want to find out why there are so many problems with this project and what will happen in the future. Will the high-speed train be completed?
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0:00 California's Failed High-Speed Rail
0:49 Why is it being built?
2:35 Phase 1
3:13 Phase 2
4:34 What went wrong?
5:05 Funding Problems
7:05 Downsizing of the project
8:50 What do Californians think?
9:50 Current progress & Future
#megaprojects #california #highspeedtrain
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Is this project a waste of money, or should it be built despite the rising costs? What do you think?
Absolutely finish it, cost overruns are unfortunately to be expected in America.
@@Nomz41 no one blinks when it happen on highway constuction, but look how quick people are to attack a railway.
Bureaucrat and corruptions!
COMPLETELY worth it - infrastructure only gets more expensive in time. HSR will make an enormous impact on many CA issues. Proud of those making it happen. #iwillride
@@ElzariusUnity Texas spend a sweet $81 bln on their crumbling road . ( remind that US sprawl and car dependence costs society $1 trillion per year ..)
LAX airport : initally a whopping $15 bln for a make over . Now a mindboggling $30 bln !!
But yeah sirports ..roads ..
Man, China built its first high speed rail in 2008 from Beijing to Tianjin. In the same year, California started its high speed train project. Fast forward 15 years later, China now has 26100 miles of high speed rail and we are still debating when this high speed project will be done.. sigh...
Yes, and people don't have individual rights or private property rights either in China so whatever the government wants it gets regardless of what the people want or don't want.
In a democracy people have much more say in what goes on in their country.
You can get a lot done with the power of genocide and crimes against humanity.
@@AL-lh2ht indeed. With the Chinese communist government it's my way or you disappear.
congratulations to Indonesia, which will soon inaugurate the high speed train
There is a better video that would explain that. It came from the big bosses of this project. It has something to do with legal stuff, human rights, etc.
The Chinese govt just builds infrastructure whenever, wherever.
people seem to forget that projects like the eurotunnel or the tokaido shinkansen also had cost overruns at the time of their construction and nobody seems to complain about those projects. even highways cost a shit ton of money and are barely profitable but everyone points out the only major high speed rail project in construction in the country
California is uniquely broken, politically, socially and ideologically. Comparing California to any other place on earth is not apt.
But at least alot of people are using those especially the Tokaido Shinkansen. Meanwhile in California? Heck no, everyone uses cars to travel. Also like China literally builds more high speed lines than America and they're pretty good at it. Heck Morroco has a high speed train (Africa first high speed train) The US is lacking. Most of them admit they don't like using trains. Once this project is finished i don't think the US will build more
@@ad1t-384i see markets for high speed rails in florida (miami orlando tampa) and maybe texas in the medium term future, but im no expert.
cuz there is no other alternative ways to travel between these 2 cities other than flying and driving. Your logic don’t make any sense.
Oh they did complain. It’s just they all shut up after it’s finished and realized how great it is.
This project could be the trigger for a nationwide transportation upgrade. I live in San Diego area and I love the idea of spending a weekend in the Bay Area without the 9-10 hour drive, it should be cheaper too.
That is what happened in India when the Delhi Metro was opened. It pushed other cities to build their own metro networks and on to a nationwide railway building and upgrade spree
One important thing for that to happen is standardization of infrastructure, rolling stock, and signaling systems on the federal and state levels.
Other states and areas are looking at this and thinking “I ain’t gonna open that can of worms” and spend hundreds of billions of dollars. CHSR has hindered HSR access in the nation because of how bad this has gone.
@@tylerkriesel8590 Minnesota almost had high speed rail, but that sob Scott Walker stopped the project, sold the trains, and built the zoo interchange instead
Flying is much easier and cheaper
Have you seen what Shinkansen Tickets cost in Japan? It will likely be cheaper than flying, but not by much.
After visiting different countries, US public transportation system is just horrible and embarrassing. And as a Californian, I'm all for this project.
Great, are you willing to send in a check for your portion of the cost, before you buy a ticket? It will cost every CA resident, including infants, $3,200 each to pay for the rail. Tickets cost extra. Family of four? Send in $12,800 to show your support.
@@RH-cv1rgFirst off I would like to preface this comment by acknowledged my biases and saying; I am so supportive of this project, even if they cost per person was so high, i would pay it this very moment if there was a guarantee it would be completed. My school tuition and home air conditioning cost about that much and I’m very happy with both of those as I use them every day. Besides, between car insurance, registration, gas, and repairs, that’s about how much I spend on my car in a year.
Moving on: You claim that it would cost 3200$ per person, and it’s totally understandable how you got that number. Take 128B$, divide it by the population of California (about 40M) and you get 3200. Pretty straight forward. Now; the issue with that projection is that it assumes that the entirely of the bill will be footed by the state of California, which even at this very moment is untrue. About 15% of the money spent thus far is federal. Now, if you were to assume the project receives no more federal funding for the rest of its existence, I could see how the project could be possibly rounded to be that expensive per person, but realistically these projects are usually funded about 50/50 state/federal. In addition to that; that’s simply not how taxes work. There are brackets and special circumstances. Some people pay more in taxes, such as the rich and business, where others pay less. The brunt of the cost will not be on the average person, and certainly not infants as you put it.
The California high speed rail project will likely never be completed. The section from Merced to Bakersfield will eventually open in the 2030s but the rest of the line will never be built. The funding just doesn't exist and the government is too corrupt and too incompetent to build it.
@@Novusod thanks for your prediction.
@@LegendaryRQA Excellent explanation and easy for those simple minded to understand, if they choose to. Some people will never understand the benefits of train/hsr system or a normal public transit system.
The people who started that High Speed Rail Authority will probably be retired before phase 1 is even finished.
Phase 1 will finish before GTA 6 release.
@@sovietunion9131lol
@@sovietunion9131LOL
Retiring rich too, 😂
Learn from other countries. In Spain it's cheaper to Fly and you get there faster.. San Diego to San Francisco is average $70 dollar flight 1hr 30 minutes 🤔 Train will never beat a Plane.. BIGGEST WASTE OF MONEY....
How everything magically gets more expensive when its built in the USA is crazy.
Like The NYC subway extension costing nearly 5 billion dollars per Km
Bureaucrat and corruptions!
Hmm, forgot about other country that does that
The NYC Subway system has about 750 million rider/trips per year. The CA train is estimated to have 2.3 million trips per year.
So NY spend $5 billion/km on the extension, CA is spending $100 billion EXTRA for 300 times fewer passengers.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out the math doesn't work. I know, the emotional we need a train crowd will never acknowledge it but no one wants to ride a train from Bakersfield to Madera.
@@RH-cv1rgguy here thinks the literal most populated state with the most famously bad traffic won’t ride trains.
He thinks becuaee….libterds Biden bad.
@@RH-cv1rg You really just compared short 10 minute commutes in the worlds most famous city with a long train. Also where did you get 2.3 Million from, I see much bigger numbers.
The 1.5 hour flight from SF to LA also doesn't take into account of the preboarding, which most people should take at least an hour or so of cushion time to get through TSA & baggage checking, walking through the airport (SF's airport is HUGE btw), maybe take a bathroom or food break, etc. all before getting to their flight.
Doesn't really matter when you take departure time into account.
If you set both of their departure times to the same time, say 12:00pm
the Plane arrives at LA at around 1:40pm and the train arrives at around 3:00pm.
I wouldn't underestimate the sheer speed of planes as they cruise at 75-85% the speed of sound, while high speed trains travel at around 20-25%.
@@blackhole9961yes but what about the environmental harms?
@@Max-yp1iw let’s be honest.
How much do you think the average American REALLY cares about or even thinks enough about the environment to inconvenience themselves over practicality.
If someone simply wanted to get from city A to city B the fastest using a plane, they are going to chose that option.
It’s also convenience. It’s easier to take the train and ended up right in down town without having to deal with any of that security.
@@blackhole9961 Yes, when considering departure time, planes will always outspeed trains in that regard. However that only likens to those who want to get somewhere far pretty fast.
Another thing that trains can be very attractive is that they can be a lot more convenient than planes in various ways:
-boarding on and off a train is much faster and simpler than a plane, even with luggage
- you don’t need to turn on Airplane mode on trains, especially if they’re domestic lines
- you can get up and walk around at any point during a train ride, whereas you can’t do that in the about the first 20-30 min after take off and before landing as well as turbulence
-also there is generally more legroom on trains than planes which can be comfortable
-much more scenic views when traveling by train (besides when going through tunnels)
-if something goes wrong on a plane, it can only get fixed once it reaches the ground (or crashes); whereas if something goes wrong on a train, it can stop and let people out right then (or if it derails, there’s still a better chance more people will survive)
-pricing: to be determined. Sometimes it’s cheaper to fly, other times it’s cheaper to travel by rails
The actual flight time from SF to LA is only about 45 minutes. The rest of that 1.5 hours is due to departure delays and holding patterns over the destination. Now, add-in dealing with the vile TSA, and that flight is now over 4 hours!
"The actual flight time from SF to LA is only about 45 minutes. "
It's 45-60 minutes yes.
"The rest of that 1.5 hours is due to departure delays and holding patterns over the destination. "
Nope, this part is wrong. Literally the flight takes about 60 minutes. The companies are just padding the schedule. In the real world it's a quick convenient one hour flight.
"Now, add-in dealing with the vile TSA, and that flight is now over 4 hours!"
Nope. That you suck at travel doesn't mean I suck at travel.
Get to the airport about 15-20 minutes before boarding begins. If you're taking a quick trip to LA or the Bay Area you shouldn't have much luggage, if you do, print the tags out at home and use the automated system. Also, get "clear", make sure your backpack has your laptop in a separate sleeve and your electronics are in the top pocket, so you can remove them quickly, wear shoes that are easily slipped off and jeans that fit you without a belt. This makes it quick.
Also, GET DROPPED OFF AT THE AIRPORT. Driving your own car there is very stupid. Use a cab or public transit, either one, just don't drive yourself. BART takes 30 minutes from Powell Street to SFO, driving takes 20 minutes. At San Jose, SJC is about 10 minutes away by driving and about 20 minutes with light rail plus bus. In LA, Burbank is what you would use if you're going to downtown LA because Amtrak is right there at Burbank airport and gets you to downtown LA in 30 minutes.
@@neutrino78xwhat idiot wears jeans for a 60 min flight. You said a whole bunch of nothing.
@@neutrino78x - Actual flight time is 45 minutes. I have taken the flight from San Jose to LA dozens of times (Ontario is about 45 to 50 minutes).
@@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO
" Actual flight time is 45 minutes. "
I've definitely been on flights that are only 45 minutes for this route! It's like 45-60 depending on how much the pilot opens up the throttle (for whatever reason). Maybe they get told to not open the throttle up as much sometimes.
Anyway yeah 3 hours is way too slow.
I know building these projects are hugely costly, but oh SO NEEDED!! Lack of funding is the worst reason not to keep building it. Funds are later business! This needs to be prioritized and finished ASAP! Here in Europe and also in China and Japan they know how important high speed rail is.
Japan's Shinkansen recently set a new record, with 471 trains between Tokyo and Osaka in one day, with one train arriving and departing every 3:32 seconds!
This means that about 470,000 passengers are using the Shinkansen and 1,000 people are transported per train!
By the way, the fare is 14,400 yen.
The cost of electricity per train is said to be about 300,000 yen between Tokyo and Osaka.
Every 3 seconds? How
@@Jasper-Holland Wrong math .. at least he need to multiply it by 60. Somewhere around every 3 minutes.
What few folks know, is that a large chunk HSR funds have actually gone to widening the entire length of Hwy 99 (from Grapevine to Sacramento, 300 miles) into a 6-lane freeway/interstate.
So money has gone into a project that people want and will use, instead of a vanity project for hippies? You say that like it's a bad thing.
@@daleviker5884 No, not a bad thing---just dishonest. Has it now come to the point that officials have to lie and misappropriate, even to do the RIGHT thing? The point that i was trying to make, was that officials seem to have no intention of completing the HSR project. It is instead, being used as a covert funding source.
i see 2/3 of the budget went to poor use of concrete - some if not most of those gantries are way way over enginneried, similar one here in Aus span same roads on just a few poles.. these jobs are always to help some pollies mate make coin from shite like this. Steel companys getting paid too thats for sure.
@@daleviker5884how will the car free people use it?
@@daleviker5884 well, the major issue is increasing number of lanes will have lower and lower effects of solving traffic jams. you gotta solve the source problem eventually which is the narrow exits and entrances on both end.
As a high speed rail enjoyer in Japan, definitely push this project to completion. Afterall,it was the same story as the first ever high speed rail service with cost overrun.
Exactly
The conditions are not comparable.
California is a really poorly ran state .
Exactly, PNR-NSCR has cost overrun, and behind schedule, which was supposed to be 2025, but postponed by at least 4-5 years to 2029-2030. I wish I can ride their trains 4-5 years from today.
Invite a Chinese developer, contractor, laborers and operator. It would be done in a year
It is mind blowing how stupid Americans are they don't even go check out china's high speed rail. China has 15 city's the size of NY and all have new freeways bridges and multiple high speed rail. This is the future our gov has created for us... THREADS
Exactly. They need to start getting people from other countries that already have this stuff to try to help. Nothing wrong with asking for a little help. You can even try make it better. So many project around the country that can happen.
I think the problem is the US method of major project delivery especially if it takes a long time like Boston's Big Dig Project (3 bln originally - 20 bln final cost). Instead of doing things in house, planning, design, and project management are farmed out to consultants who hire their own subconsultants and so do the subs. Also construction is privatized. A general contractor submits a low-ball bid and gets the contract, and he hires his own subcontractors who in turn hire their own. It's turtles all the way down!
It's graft for the sake of our corporate overlords all the way down.
Originally they were going to bring in some train experts from Europe (Spain or France as I recall). But the state of California made the same argument that they could do it all in-house with their massive staff of engineers from Cal-Trans. Well they wound up outsourcing almost everything anyway, to the point where California didn't even own the intellectual property of the consultants. They failed utterly. They hired people to sit around waiting before the land purchases to be made. I believe there are some very wealthy people who will drag this thing out for as long as possible to fleece the California taxpayer for the most money possible. So far we are 15 years in from when this was approved by voters and we have nothing to show for it and all the phantom "private investors" never appeared.
No one ever questions need for a new highway. Or when it goes DECADE past due date and cost overrun is bigger than the initial budget.
Do you have an example, might be interesting for our research :)
@@MegaBuildsYTinterstate 69 extension
@@MegaBuildsYTliterally most of the interstate highway.
@@Dosi_Dough yeah this has been on the works for like 30 years right? and yet no one questions and the media doesn't post anything about it just about things that are new to the US
(Cough) Boston's Big Dig (Cough)
Politicians, car manufacturing corporations and oil corporations lobby against any public infrastructure. This is why it's being delayed and underfunded. Japan, China, France, Germany, Spain and Italy have HSR and they are not as rich as the United States. The difference is that the wealth in America is very condensed in the top few percentages (politicians, bankers, corporations CEO/ board members) and income inequality is getting even worse.
although there are many pros and cons, Indonesia as a "developing country" will start using high-speed rail in August 2023 after 7 years of development😁 for phase 1 (145km), and will continuing until total 720km😇
Just curious: will the Sulawesi Railway be extended from Makassar all the way to Manado?
@@ianhomerpura8937rencananya, namun tergantung presiden setelah nya mau lanjutkan program yang sudah ada tau tidak itu pertanyaan sesungguhnya😅
I don’t it will run for long because it’s built by China.
After a decade of development from 2019 to 2029, PNR-NSCR will be finished, too. Despite long construction time, I am still optimistic.
population density is quite a bit higher. apples and oranges.
When SFO wanted to extend the BART, they suffered similar criticisms & complaints. Yet it has been a resounding success. Build it, and people will use it..!!
Has it? Cuz apparently they’re cutting routes and ending service by 9pm. Doesn’t sound like a “resounding success”
people hardly use the sfo extension. i took it the other day and i was one of like 9 people total on the entire line: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_International_Airport_station
@@lespaulranger That one time you used it*
@@Mgameing123 the one time i took it last week yes there were a total of 9 people. I've taken the bart extension at least 50 times by now. I attended the ceremony when they first unveiled the station and have a bart plush toy from the event.
Ridership on BART has plummeted.
Cost overruns and delays? What could cause it? Corruption? No way, this is the United States, we don't do that here.
i’m sure no other country has ever had a delay
It shouldnt cost that much.. someones pockets are well lined
This could be something the surplus could go to
Does it have its issues? Yes. Do we as Americans need it to not only greatly benefit the economy but also remove THOUSANDS of CO2 emissions from the air? Absolutely. Not to mention, highways are insanely expensive and operate at a deficit yet no one complains about them.
What makes expensive is the people in the US government and the US oligarchs.
The route project was leaked to corporations at the first place, hence the corporations bought the lands before the project was started. And then those corporations raised the price of the lands they bought, hundreds times than they have spent. That's why the cost of the project increasing from 33 Billion USD, to 105 Billion USD, and today 129 Billion USD, and will keep increasing.
And guess who owns the corporations? The people in the government, and the oligarchs who have link with with the government! This is how corrupt the US government is.
@@mikhail2446 there is also massive lobbying against the projects, mainly by another set of oligarchs who preside over the oil, automobile, petrochemical, and airline industroes.
CO2 is not a prob, btw
@@johnl5316 try inhaling it then
AMEN, gevans446!
In sweden , they did a similar project that failed with Hallandsåsen ... but they started in 1992 and it was finished in 2015 ..
That's not HSR
Americas transit projects have some of the highest construction costs in the world. A big part of this is that every project is treated as unique unlike Europe where such construction is standardized. We need to standardize construction in the US as well
Projects like this always have cost overruns because they never tell you the real cost of a public project or they would never get built as people would balk at the cost
Just like interstate highway projects
The planning consultants always return a ridiculously low cost at the beginning... then later on you find they left a lot of stuff out. Check out the planned subway for Austin Texas for example: it's now going to be surface light railway.
This thing is a joke. They don't even have a train yet and no track has been laid in 6 years. Another example of the states waste of our hard earned tax dollars.
I-69
I agree
Laos' sub-HSR (250 km/h) has already run for a year. Indonesia's standard HSR (350 km/h) will run on August. America's HSR will run on . . . . .😂
Laos has a great, new 422 km/262 mi railway with an appropriate fast speed. Top speed is 160 kph/100 mph. Average speed is very good at about 110 kpm/68 mph.
I just found this channel, great content! Thanks for producing top YT videos!
That we have been beaten by China is an embarrassment. I use the TGV in France every time I visit and it's INCREDIBLE, easy to use and cheaper than flying most of the time. The oil industry has helped to road block this project from its inception because profits over infrastructure is their game, shame on them!!!
Don't blame big oil for the demise of passenger rail in America. The US government itself chose to FLY the mail long distances and TRUCK the mail short distances more than a half century ago when the USPS terminated its railroad mail contracts. There was a reason why the railroad operating the northeast corridor went bankrupt causing Congress to create Amtrak. America is NOT a TINY nation like France one can drive across in a single day. The US Mail prefers to FLY the mail across the nation in HOURS, not DAYS using a train...
China made theirs first because they can steal land and nobody gives a shit
You didn't get beat-you got bent over and 'pulled a train' so to speak.
Just build a runway on each end and fly planes. It's faster, cheaper and doesn't require the huge land grab with construction boondoggle. The train will take longer, depart at fewer times, require constant maintenance and is very risky in an active seismic area. As for greenhouse gas emissions, this project's construction carbon footprint is HUGE. The production of all that concrete and steel, for bridges that won't last forever, many have a 50-year lifespan, built on agricultural land that is the most productive in the world. Flights from LA to San Fran are only about $50 each way and take only 90 minutes. Compared to 3-hours on rail - So there's not going to be a significant economic impact. For a small fraction of the money, flying could be made enjoyable by streamlining TSA checks and providing more runways to reduce tarmac delays and circling to land.
Very interesting video! I think they should finish it but not for $128b. There must be a way to build it cheaper, look at China for example..
China doesn't have strict environmental laws, high labor costs, and tight regulations like California does
Yeah, but consider that all of the materials are coming from China
@josephimbriani5632 That's just an excuse to make yourself feel better, right?
@josephimbriani5632 it is bureaucrat and corruptions, buddy!
Everything in the usa takes forever to build and 4-5 times over budget.
Driving from LA-San Fransicko will take 6 hours. Taking the 3 trains from LA-San Fransicko will be the same or more.
Meanwhile China has completed its entire national high speed rail network in less time.
by the time this completes they be building rails on the moon
fun fact: It only costs $20b to build 1400km high speed rail from Beijing to Shanghai.
Fun fact: China also uses slave labor to cut down on costs. It’s people don’t have rights and the government builds over historical landmarks and natural wonders.
@@tylerkriesel8590Fun facts Americans had fake democracy/freedom 😂
@@tylerkriesel8590Fun fact : You guys going China and pray them buy ya all debts but got ignored 😂😂😂😂
So the biggest problems is that they could have made a simple design next to the highway with a train that goes 150 mph making the trip only about 3 hours. That would have already been done. Instead they built this ridiculous project which is beginning to look like an elaborate way to embezzle money.
The real problem here though is that the Central Valley needs a major investment for a city in the middle. The state needs a major city in the middle of these 2 population centers and I think that they could easily incentivize major corporations to move their operations to this area and move millions of people there. Providing affordable housing and making new housing available in LA and the Bay Area from the people who move out.
129B Dollars for a greener way to transfer between those cities... At the end the tickets for that thing will be so expensive that eventually not many people will use this train anyway.
i still dont get how americans think of modern rails as "not what we need"
most of the globe relies on trains to do most of their travel, and they are cheaper options to get around then airplanes (usually faster too)
i guess im just envious of europe and asia for their modern rails while we cant even stop train derailments in the states. lol
It's because the tracks in the USA are owned by 5 private railroad companies who only care about moving freight and profits
3:44
If California is struggling in constructing a 350km/h ( 217mph ) high speed rail ,
then I can’t imagine the difficulty to construct a super maglev ( 603km/h) / ( 375mph ) in California
Would be easier once the track is in place to retrofit it. The main issue with HSR as I understand it is that it needs very straight tracks to travel safely over long distances. The existing rail network that dates back to the gold rush in the 1850s is very narrow, filled with winding turns through mountain passes
What’s the long term alternative? Keep adding lanes to the already overcrowded 10 lane highways?
Get it built; it will set the example for the rest of the country.
One thing not mentioned in pieces like this, is the type of construction which is required in Cali due to the seismic problems. This train runs very close to the San Andreas. You can see by the video the enormous structures needed to safely support the system. Being from the SFBA, I too would love to move from north to south for a week/weekend, without sitting on the 5/99 for hours. I hope this HSR along with Brightline signal the future of rail in this country.
I never understood the planned path. If the original goal was SF to LA quickly following I-5 would have been almost a straight shot, with less infrastructure needed. Shorted commenter routes could be completed later from Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto,Merced, Fresno, and Bakersfield, connecting to the main line. I think the project took the most complexed, riskiest, pathway possible - therefore $$$$$$$$.
My first thought also.🤨
Because the I-5 route would completely bypass most of the Central Valley and the 7 million people who live there. Like, the thing was only allowed to happen at all if it started in the most disadvantaged part of the state.
This project could absolutely transform the State of California. Despite its cost, it will be monumental on it’s potential.
How? How does moving some people, mostly business and tourists, slightly faster between a few massive cities (eventually) going to "transform" the state?
Rich people are slightly less inconvenienced... So what?
@TheOwenMajor Even if we disregard the environmental impacts of taking cars off the road and planes out of the sky (which shouldn't be understated, but skeptics are almost completely concerned about economic impact), one should realize that it not only links the two major metro areas of LA and SF but also Central Valley cities like Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, and Merced.
All of a sudden, commuting from those cities to SF or LA, especially for hybrid style jobs will become viable. No one wants to drive 2-6 hours in each direction, but a 1-2 hour train ride in each direction is infinitely more feasible. This has a twofold impact of reducing housing burdens in SF amd LA and also providing resources and incentives to further develop the Central Valley cities.
As the video itself pointed out, the construction and later operation of the rail also provides thousands of jobs primarily to those from the Central Valley region.
It also provides alternative transportation methods to a 6 hour drive or a 1 hour flight (where you have to deal with the difficulties of getting through the airport). Having more price and time options is always good for consumers of all economic classes - not just rich business travelers and tourists as you claim. I think its disingenuous to imply that working class or poorer people do not travel between these two areas.
High speed rail stations themselves often become local drivers of economic growth and development with high density housing, stores, restaurants, and parks being built near them.
The existence of transportation hubs such as High Speed Rail stations also encourages the further development of local public transit systems like busses and metro. More efficient public transit allows people without cars to access better jobs and education.
And to just make it crystal clear to those who only think in terms of economic gains: More jobs = more taxes. More development = more business = more taxes. Less homeless = more economic activity = more taxes. Less traffic = more time saved = more economic activity = more taxes.
Agreed, AFTW!
@@TheOwenMajorit does two major things aside from transportation: it’ll help cool housing demand in LA and San Francisco and it’ll inject investment into the Central Valley cities.
@@TheOwenMajor No on cars from LA to something like Bakersfield.
Less car and gas. Same for planes which pumps C02 into the atmosphere. Would save taxes on helping the environment. Saves money from car managment. People in Bakersfield could get a job in LA which means more oppurtunites.
Japan's first bullet train was also way over budget and suffered a great deal of controversy and criticisms. But they did it. They pushed through it and finally finished it and that was 50 years ago at a time when the United States of America should of been developing one as well. Today 50 years later, Japan has one of the largest highspeed rail grids on earth along with great infrastructures and economic growth. 50 years later the mighty United States of America is still behind the far more advanced countries of the far east and Europe and just getting started. So learn as you go and learn from your mistakes but, finish the damn project and obtain what we should of had decades ago. Highspeed bullet trains and maglev super train technology, the new american dream....
15 years and no single kilometer have been finished. Wow!
Nor have they chosen which high speed train to buy as yet...
I hope they make more high speed rails (that are actually fast like that of Europe and East Asia) and complete/care about them
Mismanagement of funds hands down and ridiculous red tape is the norm for California... This would be so awesome if it ever gets completed. We are so far behind when it comes to transportation alternatives. California needs to get this project going in the right direction. It would be very popular and a great alternative to flying.
Which high-speed train will run on these tracks? Will it be a TGV like the one planned between Boston and Washington?
This should have been built 40 yrs ago
This won't be fully completed for at least another 40 years, if at all.
If they can complete this, it will be a miracle 😆😆😆
33 Trillian in debt this is our future... THREADS
Meanwhile in Laos (a 3rd world country) recently started schedule route on their high-speed rail service from Vientiane (Capital) to a border city with China. Too much politics and regulations in the US especially in Cali
Wonderful video. Yes I do think America is ready for High-Speed rails, it's long over due!💖
Seriously, I really wanted and believe California HSR completed
@@Daniel-hj8el Most likely not before you die....
@@ronclark9724 I'm, on, teen era...😤
💥💥This is never getting finished, America doesn't care about it improving its infrastructure like alot of those cities in Europe and Asia or even the Middle East. All America cares about is military defense spending that's why America still using old outdated train systems here. Other countries like Japan and etc had bullet trains back in the 1960s America.
I think the fastest trains in America are those ugly Amtrak Acela trans that go 165 mph. Just like the cities here in America see all the major projects being built in other cities in Europe and Asia etc you go to the cities here in America they're all basic boring bland etc.
Politicians whether they Republicans or democrats have failed America greatly.
I even have questions that, if this is done, would it affect other trains like Amtrak, Metrolink, freight, coaster, etc. ?! Also when was it supposed to be finished?!
The way that every other country on the planet completes projects and the US fails time and time again, will forever remain a mystery. Our taxes are increased, and increasingly spent year after year. We need to demand more from our government as this type of “bottomless pit of money” behavior that is constantly put on display by our elected officials is disgusting and egregious. The little guy always loses.
The greatest obstacle to completion is state government corruption and incompetence. Odds it ever will be completed as advertised are vanishingly small. Nice video though.
As a Californian, born and raised, I support this project wholeheartedly and am deeply disappointed with how long it's going to take. The fact that we are nearly a quarter century post-2000 and have yet to have a single adequate HSR in the entirety of the United States isn't only disappointing, but quite simply embarrassing on the world stage.
the world stage doesn't matter
@@davidjackson7281because the usa is on its own little island?
@@woodworking406 Because other places are crap.
@@davidjackson7281 We have our merits and we have our flaws, just like other countries. We should strive to fix our flaws and be better.
@@screampillow3360 Don't care for judging vs other countries. The USA has excellent reasons for being different.
The high speed rail is a must!
Why
@@The_king567 common sense!
Imagine no more traffic. Build that thing
With this budget they could easily make the project sc maglev instead with 600km/hr
Looks like india will start it's high speed rail before America
India's HSR will be operational from 2027
@@dibassarkar2898 Great, it will then be a faster disaster of a country. Visit the place before writing a misinformed reply.
You explained this project very well. I think this project could be better than this
MUCH better and this train able to reach 217mph, is not impressive, At All. Europe and Asian counties have been cruising at those speeds for Decades now, meaning this technology is old. Plus, with the amount of money they are dumping into this project, we could of build a Maglev Train that can cruise at 300+mph with Ease.
@@theoneandonly1802not true. Even today, HSR at 200+ mph are few. Most HSR lines run between 150-175 mph. Their top potential speeds could be higher but they don't run at their very top capable speeds because it degrades the system much quicker.
@@mrxman581 Ok, I will give a credit to your comment, because there is a truth to it, but wouldn't you agree that for $100+ BILLION we should of build a Maglev with ease, instead of old fashion rail road train.
@@theoneandonly1802 No, because maglev is still an unproven long term technology. There is only one working maglev and it's a very short line of about 20 miles in China. It reaches speeds of about 260 mph
Why does it cost soo high, i mean for comparison India is also constructing it's 1st high speed rail line between Mumbai & Ahmedabad (around 600km) and it is estimated to cost around $15 billion while most of the work is done under the guidance of Japan, train sets will also be imported from Japan. I understand labour cost is low in India but 15 billion and 120 billion that is a huge difference.
I have heard that progress is slow and cost overrun is almost a guarantee. Do you know how many miles have been built so far and when will it goes into operation?
The cost has escalated to $20 billion for 508 km(315 miles) because of the delay but still significantly lower than that of the US.
@@woodworking406Progress isn't slow. Construction started in 2020, and pier work of 200km and 70 km of the viaduct is completed. The operation will most likely start in 2026 on a shorter route and the entire project completion in 2028.
That's a lot of money to serve a small portion of the country's population to take weekend vacations. I fail to see how this improves economic growth beyond some bars and restaurants. Not exactly well spent tax dollars.
I think the only feasible way is to ask Chinese companies to do it.
if you want to control budget and quality, Chinese company is the best choice
@@ArthasX You just earned 50 cents!
@@alexthai4957 CIA just deposited 1 dollar into your account!
Does anyone know what section that is being built at 10:22? I've never seen that site before.
I typically cringe at CAHSR videos from random sources, but thankfully this video has been truthful and balanced about this project. It's going to be a great addition to public transportation when it is finished. People will ride it. They do so in other countries, and in America where railways exist. I have no doubt it will happen in California as well.
People who call this a "boondoggle" or "train to nowhere" are selfish and are completely the fact that the Central valley has been largely ignored by the rest of the state. The fact that most of the wealth resides on the coasts is ridiculous. High speed railways are PROVEN technology around the world.
Mexican Tren Maya started construction on December 2018 and opening date December 2023, its not the fastest but overall its almost completed ready to open at the end of this year, I just hope California completes this project.
PNR-NSCR, and the subway already started in 2019, and are expected for partial operability by 2025-2026, and full operability by 2029-2030.
The whole project is taking so long. Flying cars will probably be operational before this High-Speed Rail is completed!
Call on China to help doing high speed rail right on budget on time.
The reason China can build projects like this is because they are a communist country with no individual or private property rights. So whatever the Chinese government wants it gets regardless of what their residents wants or doesn't want.
I believe the Governator (arnold schwarzenegger) did suggest that when he was in office but Americans are too proud to admit they needed help from a developing country and shut down that idea quick. California would have had over 1000+ miles of hsr already and at only half the cost. Oh well.
@@woodworking406 US gov. is ready to wage wars, destruct countries well being, turn 10's of millions into refugees, rub countries of their resources.
Eliminate any leader who work to improve his people basics.
Ukrainian millions status now are a proof of these US policies.
Asking China to teach arrogant US !!!! far reaching goals.
Destroy any opposing country that pose a progress. 5G Huawei is another example.
@@woodworking406 LOL! Ridiculous.
Reminds me of the 'Century Freeway' in LA (I-105) when I was living there some 40+ years ago. It was named such as the alignment would be along Century Blvd a major east-west route OR it would be the next century before it was ever completed. I don't know when it was completed, but I did travel that freeway from the eastern terminus to I-405 by LAX when I returned to LA for an event in 2012 nearly 20-years I had left.
It was completed in 1993.
I heard a lot of Trains/Rail renewal stuff were blocked by oil tycoon lobbies n such, would be sad if true! This project seems amazing!
Bureaucracy is a huge problem in America. There are too many hoops and steps. I'm ok with big government projects, but we need to make them more efficient.
Your videos never let down keep up the good work!
this is video is garbage misinformation wtf are you on?
An urgent need, for California, If the cost is more expensive than expected, but it is an investment, for the economy, that everyone will benefit directly or indirectly. Whether air and road transport will decrease from 50% to 80% depending on distances. Excellent information
Appears the only one benefiting from this BOONDOGGLE investment are the construction companies, surely not the people... Government graft, big time...
What do they say about the cost of the high speed rail connection between Tokyo and Okinawa, Japan? About over twice the amount budgeted, with tons of delays, etc.? Now the Japanese consider that connection as essential. I think with persistence, California’s high speed rail connection described here could become a success and a well relied upon piece of infrastructure, not unlike the Japanese project.
Can't wait to take the shinkansen in California. I hope there's a stop in Little Tokyo so we can buy some authentic bento boxes before heading up to SF.😊
Better yet, if it were truly like the Shinkansen, they would sell amazing bento boxes on the train itself!
Lets go California!! Make this high speed rail a reality
No. Ukraine needs the money more than the US
@@ViolentCabbage-ym7koWe aren’t sending money to Ukraine, we’re sending weapons. That’s honestly good enough.
@@dnsjtoh Weapons don't magically pop up from the sky. It's either taken from the US inventory first and then replaced to ensure the stockpile doesn't deplete or it's made from the factory and then shipped it to Ukraine. Both scenarios require money
@@ViolentCabbage-ym7ko But when you read that we’re sending “43 billion dollars” to Ukraine, we’re not. The vast majority is old weapons and such, and it really only takes a fraction of that amount of money to send them.
@@dnsjtoh That's not true. The old weapons are not sold at a fraction of the price. We now know that most of the arms sold to Ukraine are overvalued that is reflected as an "accounting error". The US spend an additional US$6.2 billion to Ukraine
I love the idea of this and would absolutely take it once complete, however I think this is only really viable as an option for transportation if there are also decent forms of public transit on all ends that would allow people to commute entirely without cars.
Either that or dense midrise mixed use developments are built around the new railway stations. That is what cities across Europe and the Asia-Pacific did.
@@scotttild it is very much high speed, connects to existing commuter rail lines so people can still travel from San Francisco to San Diego, and people will very much use it, just because you meat ride your car, doesn’t mean others do
"wever I think this is only really viable as an option for transportation if there are also decent forms of public transit on all ends that would allow people to commute entirely without cars."
Uh, nobody commutes 380 miles
Especially not in 2023 when a fair percentage are working from home
CZcams is littered with videos like this one declaring CHSR a failure even though it's still being actively funded and built. The high costs aren't just money vanishing into nowhere; it's paying for countless other ancillary infrastructure projects that benefit the state by themselves. It's also always going to be difficult and expensive to do a major project like this for the first time in the US. The institutional knowledge gained from building this will make it easier, faster, and cheaper to build future HSR lines throughout the country.
Una necesidad urgente, para California, Si el coste es más caro que esperado, pero es una inversión, para la economía, que todos beneficiarán directamente o indirectamente. Si el transporte aéreo y por carretera disminuirá de un 50% a un 80% según distancias. Excelentes informaciones gracias.
If this project is done, how will it affect other trains? Ex. ( Amtrak, coaster, Metrolink, etc ).
Depends on the ridership of the CAHSR.
In China, they retained both HSR and sleeper trains, since they needed all the trains they can get, especially for the Chunyun - the annual Spring Festival.
In Japan, they have mostly phased out sleeper trains, with the exception of Sunrise Izumo and those operated by JR Hokkaido.
In Europe, HSR is strong, but recently sleeper trains are making a comeback.
In all three, subway and commuter trains similar to Metrolink and Caltrain connect the main HSR station to the suburbs.
It doesn’t run the same route or on the same tracks as those 3 you mentioned. They should all work together.
If you go back to articles and publications from the early 2000s, the Bakersfield to Merced segment was always intended to be the first segment. This wasn’t a mistake or a bad idea. The plan was to learn the process with the portion that is easier to construct than in the highly populated areas.
@@HollywoodF1 It was a horrible idea. The reason the route is designed like it is was purely for political expedience. The whole project was held up until certain holdouts were assured that they would get their share of the gravy-train in their district.
It seems, that the ability to build train lines goes along with exercise status of the respective nation. China is world champion in train building. In England the new highspeed rail becomes like in california much more expensive than expected. Germany, France, Spain etc. are europen nations, which have still some exercise in train building. Resulting in costs per Km between China and UK/USA. If USA builds a nationwide high speed net, like China, the costs per Km may decrease because of exercise.
China has tofu dreg construction. It is already crumbling
China is a communist country with no private property rights or individual rights which is the main reason they can build stuff faster. Whatever the communist party wants it gets no matter what their people want or don't want.
Japan is the leader of trains. Not china. And wait until you learn the US has more trains then china.
@@jerrymiller9039in your dream ? Go see a doctor 😂😂😂
If Phase 1 ever gets completed (which I doubt it will), one would still have to ride a bus from Bakersfield to L.A. That's absurd and that path exists today with Amtrak to get over the pass. There's no time savings to do that over driving a car. Who's going to drive to Merced as a starting point? Also how will they locate the tracks from San Francisco to the Central Valley. The whole area is jammed with development. Add to that, the mountain pass from Bakersfield to L.A. would need a massive tunnel. This project is a sad lesson on "sunk cost fallacy". It'll never materialize.
A big factor in this rail project going waaaay over budget, are all those NIMBY's complaining about the train going through their towns. I am not certain that the high speed train will ever run up the San Francisco peninsula. Residents of that peninsula are some of the most ardent opponents of the project. Psssh, idiots.
I think that the California government should take a page out of the Mexican gov. in building the high speed rail. Five years into the AMLO presidency and the Maya train project is nearing completion. They did this by giving the task of building the Maya train, to the military. It's not only the train that the military is building, but an oil refinery and other big projects. California could task the Army Corps of Engineers to complete the high speed rail project. No more overrun project costs.
Good video
Thank you a lot! 💛
China spent only $62billion for 1000s of kilometres with their water transportation system. $128B to connect only two cities...come on😂
Still expensive for China
Most land is state owned in china.
Their legal system is a joke.
They don't care about the environment.
Lastly, if the us had a billion slaves like xi jinping does, all of the us would have high speed rail in no time as well.
That's the difference between a democracy vs a communist state. They don't have to deal with any of the environmental or land ownership costs. If the government says it's being built there it gets built there.
1st they should have announced the project from San Francisco to Merced (as Phase 1), which would be enough of the $9 Billion + $3 Billion budget, This would have improved the confidence among the people and the investor's.
Then from
Merced to Fresno (Phase 2).
Fresno to Bakersfield (Phase 3).
Bakersfield to Los Angeles (Phase 4).
That would be awesome, it looks similar to the Eurostar
MAHSR(India) compared to CAHSR(US) :
MAHSR
Time(Expected) : 8-10 years since construction started
Cost : $25Bn
Distance : 300 miles
Progress :
Land aquisition : 98% of overall 300 miles
Under construction miles : 218 miles
Right of way completion : 43 miles viaduct complete in 2.5 years
CAHSR
Time(Expected) : 28 years since construction started
Cost : $128Bn
Distance : 520 miles
Progress :
Land aquisition : 96% of 171 miles section
Under construction miles : 119 miles
Right of way completion : 100 miles complete in 8 years
Which one do you think will complete first?
CAHSR started construction 8 years ago not 28 and the first 171 mile section will be completed by 2030-32. The completion date from LA to SF is not yet known. It could be sooner if more federal funding is awarded to the project.
@@mrxman581 it's the time expected to complete the whole project, not time till now!
Also, MAHSR will complete it's IOS of 185 miles in 6 years by 2027(expected) vs CAHSR taking 15-17 years just for IOS(Expected).
Also, LA to SF, I have kept dates according to what is being said by regular reporters of this project.
But my personal belief is that it will never complete as $100Bn in funding is definitely going to be delayed and that will increase the cost further to more and more unsustainable numbers. In MAHSR, works started after achieving funding agreements and 98% land aquisition.
Meanwhile, the world forgot Indonesia is going to open it's first High Speed Railway from Jakarta to Bandung on 18th of August.
@@asantaraliner kudos to Indonesia! With such a difficult terrain, constructing the HSR is commendable! Exploratory studies are even not completed for CAHSR tunneling.
@@asantaraliner well because it is only 100 km and in india it is 550 km so yah 😉
China puts us to shame. There is so much we can learn from China.
In my fictional world, this project already finished and successful
Yay, glad to finally watch a yt video where the narrator correctly pronounces city names
America needs to build more of these modern public transport projects including subways!
The decaying public transport infrastructure is turning America into a 3rd world country!
American billionaires and politicians will destroy America if Americans don't hold them accountable
Amen! Agreed!
It's not a failure. It ABSOLUTELY did the job it was meant to do, making the right people like Diane Feinstein's husband richer.
No surprise it cost too much and takes too long to construct. Pie in the sky with environmentalists saying how wonderful it is and environmentalists suing because of environmental damage. What are the projected ridership and cost per person's ticket and the actual cost per person vs overall cost of construction????
I live in the Central Valley, the project was D.O.A., pronounce the time of death and let’s move on. How many commuter airplanes and airports could have been built with these kind of funds? Much more customizable routes and destinations, adjusted as needed AFTER completion and into the future, almost unlimited.
People don't understand the massive economic benefits this project will bring, There is a reason why a lot of the best cities in the world aren't in the US.
Oh plenty of people are economically benefitting from this boondoggle! Rich. Corrupt. People.
Another tidbit that no one has covered yet is the possibility of change in attitude when Brightline west goes into service, which by the sounds of it will be a few years before CHSR. If Brightline can pull this off they may end up shifting public opinion towards finishing off the CHSR project.
The Metrolink has to find a way to double and upgrade its tracks to bring the Brightline trains into Union Station. Rancho Cucamonga just doesn't cut it, especially when Metrolink only runs trains once an hour!!
128 billion, No, this project has had a blank check since the very beginning. If it's ever completed it's probably going to be more like half a trillion.
It would have been so much cheaper in 2008 to get the Federal funds upfront, but as a Nation we were in a big downturn bailing out large Companies and Banks. Timing was not good.
Why has so much been spent with so little to show for it? How much was lost to corruption? How much money was laundered?
America hates building infrastructure..
Unless it benefits big oils and billionaires.