But the Bakersfield/Merced HSR line is an actual project, estimated at over $30B (it makes no sense independently but is part of LA-to-SF). You seem to be comp

But the Bakersfield/Merced HSR line is an actual project, estimated at over $30B (it makes no sense independently but is part of LA-to-SF). You seem to be comparing an actual, private tech project to what you wished public transit looked like, not what it actually looks like. Public transit is awesome, but construction costs in the anglophone world are bananas (https://transitcosts.com/ https://transitcosts.com/).