[anigbrowl]

It'd be more likely to be approved with only 2 endpoints, since the logical thing then would be to make the route as short as possible. OTOH HSR's route through the Central Valley is partly dictated by the availability of funding from the federal government for development in that part of the state; if it was purely up to CA I think it would just run along the coastline.

[Aloisius]

> if it was purely up to CA I think it would just run along the coastline.

Actually, the only two cities it connects to in the Central Valley are among the largest population centers in California: Fresno (#5 largest city in CA) and Bakersfield (#9 largest city). By comparison, there aren't any large population centers southwest of San Jose until you're almost to LA with maybe the exception of Salinas.

Plus, if you want to swing up to Sacramento (#6 largest city) at a later point, then going inland makes more sense.

The whole thing built out with all phases connects 9 out of 10 of the largest cities in CA (Oakland is the only one left out).

[anigbrowl]

Oh I agree, but so far the people in the Central Valley don't, and think it's some sort of scheme to oppress them: http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21582556-can-hug...

Wha tI mean is that most of the popular backing for HSR seems to be in SF, SJ and LA. The interior of CA is like this whole different country.

[tzs]

I see Merced on all the maps on the state's HSR site, and Modesto and Stockton on maps for later phases of the project. Where did you see it would only connect to Fresno and Bakersfield?

[Aloisius]

Woops. I didn't see Merced.

[anologwintermut]

Until all the cities on the proposed HSR route want in. Now, maybe it's cheap enough that's not a problem. Wanting to be part of a $6B project v.s. a $60B project, but I doubt it.

The first thing someone is going to try to do is get it to connect somewhere in the middle of no where to San Jose to inflate their real-estate prices.