[buxtehude]

I wish these funds were being spent on improving the speed and quality of travel within the largest urban areas in California: SF Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Broader reach and faster travel times within those urban areas would go much farther to improve the quality of life of Californians than this high speed train project in the middle of nowhere.

I would really like California to have a high speed travel network from north to south at some point in the future - but I just don't think it's the right priority at this time - as air travel is good enough for now - and most people have to commute within their urban area every day. How often do you need to commute between SF and Los Angeles?

[s0rce]

Air travel serves SF and LA well but the central valley is underserved. They could be better served by the hsr. Not sure if that warrants the cost or not.

[dmitrygr]

Yup, those airports in Stockton, Modesto, Scaramento, Fresno, and Bakersfield are just for show.

[s0rce]

I'm assuming you are being sarcastic but the comments above were mostly about low cost southwest flights that are likely cheaper than the HSR tickets will be. Other than the subsidized flights to Merced from OAK the central valley airports are very expensive to fly in and out of.