[rsync]

"77 billion for a train in 2033 ?"

Correction - 77B for a train that will be relatively slow when it was scheduled to be unveiled in 2033.

My generation never took Amtrak seriously because it was relatively slower than other transportation modes. In 2033 and beyond, those generations will ignore CA HSR for the same reasons.

SF -> LA in <= 120 minutes or GTFO.

[cameldrv]

If you’ve ridden the nicer Euro HSR much, you see that the extra 40 minutes that CA HSR was supposed to provide doesn’t matter much. On a comfortable train with tables, power, wifi, and a coffee car, you’re basically just working remote. You arrive at the train station 10 minutes before your train instead of an hour because there is no baggage check, no security, no massive walk, no slow boarding, and no taxiing. There is no climb to 10,000 feet where you can’t use your computer, no cramped seat that makes it hard to use a big laptop, no descent where you can’t use your computer, no taxi to the gate, no slow deplaning, no second long walk, and no wait for your bags. You can buy your way out of a lot of this on the plane, but it is expensive, and everyone gets it on the train. You just get on, sit down, and relax or work for a few hours.