[alephnerd]

> that can be done

It can be done, but it is very expensive. A 8 mi mountain railway tunnel like Wienerwald cost around $400m to build. That same amount could literally be spent to expand the Altamount Corridor Express railway (ACE) into downtown San Jose, thus having an impact in a closely integrated metropolitan area of 10m residents.

Why spend that (and much more) money integrating two cities that aren't even that closely tied from a commuting standpoiint.

Only 2.2 million people travel between Greater LA and the Bay Area annually, but 5.5 million travel between San Jose and San Francisco annually.

Clearly there is some demand for LA-SF connectivity, but it's hard to justify.