Some perspective from the UK: HS1 completed in 2009 for domestic passengers (also used by the Eurostar to Europe) is our first high speed railway since the 60s

Some perspective from the UK: HS1 completed in 2009 for domestic passengers (also used by the Eurostar to Europe) is our first high speed railway since the 60s. The three "high speed" stations on the route once leaving central London are Stratford (London Olympics 2012 site), Ebbsfleet, and Ashford, have between them probably had close to 200,000 homes built within walking/cycling distance of the station. Further 'slow line' stations that the services serve once they leave the high speed line probably contribute as much new housing again. That's over the 30 years of route planning to opening. Yes, there's a bit of a spurious correlation between the UK house building, and the high speed line, but there is a direct and indirect economic correlation. Regarding 'personal safety' on the service. Trains in the UK are typically pretty safe, but the HS1 route in particular, they're obsessive about catching fare dodgers, so the trains are staffed with 'revenue protection officers', and often British Transport Police (and branch of the police force peculiar to the railway). And then there's Canary Wharf, reachable from... Stratford on the HS1 route. The former London Docklands that since the late 80s/early 90s has gone from being acres of empty docks, to skyscraper offices and skyscraper apartment blocks (pretty uncommon in London). My point being that there's a virtuous circle of 'build it and they will come'. Planning is everything in making it successful. In fact, any large infrastructure project in the UK is government planned (federal - in the US?), and the cost/benefit value is calculated, and explains why the south and south-east of England gets a disproportionate amount of investment, because the economic returns are so high. California high speed rail would have money thrown at it if it were in the UK. I really hope California's high speed rail works. But people need to be patient. It really is going to be 20 or 30 years before the economic and social benefits become obvious to everyone. In the UK if there's a mainline station in a city, we typically build many high rise office buildings in and around that station wherever possible, and then the outer stations often become 'dormitory towns'. I'd envisage something similar in California. The areas around the terminal stations in particular will grow offices, and the other stations, will see more housing and commuters. If, of course, working from home doesn't kill it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Speed_1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Speed_1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Wharf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Wharf