California high-speed rail dealt blow by Newsom's about-face

[Xithras]

5. We really only need a new Tehachapi link to get something better going.

It's already been demonstrated several times that we could do a 5 hour train trip on existing tracks, if we had the will to do so AND added a new link over the Tehachapis. The existing Santa Fe rail line is already rated for 80MPH trains, and can be updated to 95MPH with only a few minor updates (there are some ungated crossings that would need to be fixed, and some urban corridors that need better fencing).

Add a few Express BART runs a day from SF to Martinez. Coordinate its schedule with a new nonstop express run on the current San Joaquin corridor to Bakersfield, and then across a new Techachapi crossing to Lancaster. Add in an express run on the existing Metrolink running from Lancaster to L.A. Union Station. If the track speed can be bumped to 95MPH, that entire trip will only take about 5 hours. That's only 90 minutes slower than the current "bullet train" under discussion, and can be done RIGHT NOW at a tiny fraction of the cost of the bullet train.