In countries with functioning permitting systems, HSR planning and construction works well. Famously, SNCF said Morocco is less dysfunctional than California.

In countries with functioning permitting systems, HSR planning and construction works well. Famously, SNCF said Morocco is less dysfunctional than California. In the USA, with NEPA - and especially California which also has CEQA - the permitting for any kind of project is super expensive. A lot of design decisions in the Hyperloop paper are for avoiding CEQA constraints.