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

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. A "New Tehachapi crossing" would not be cheap.

Not by any stretch.

Bakersfield elevation = 400 feet
Tehachapi elevation = 3970 feet
Lancaster/Palmdale/Antelope Valley elevation = 2600 feet give or take.

The current rail line is for the most part on the surface. There are numerous tunnels, but the line pretty much climbs up the surface of the mountain range. It has dozens of rather sharp curves and its most notorious feature - The Tehachapi Loop - is in no way capable of speeds much in excess of 40 mph.

In order to put in a line capable of 80 mph speeds that would get from Bakersfield to Lancaster/Palmdale they would have to pretty much tunnel the entire way with no more than a 3% grade.

Such a tunnel would cost billions.

I've driven up and down CA Route 58 scores of times and it parallels the current rail line for much of the way. Putting in a line capable of high speed trains would be a massive undertaking.