It is an utter comedic farce and a complete waste of taxpayer money. All that will ever be built is a thirty mile segment from the city which is home to the main state prison to an avocado grove in Central Valley. A lot of money will be spent on regrading other rail lines to permit train speeds varying from 30mph to as high as 115mph.

The ballot initiative for high speed rail specified that the money could not be spent unless funding was in place for the entirety of the system, and unless the system was to be operated with no taxpayer subsidy. Ten years later neither condition has come anywhere close to being met, and it is clear that neither condition is even remotely possible. And yet the money is being spent, on something that will be utterly useless.

the original intention was from LA to SF on the west side of the valley, a straight shot with few if any stops in between to compete with air. then it was rerouted to go up the east side of the valley to serve other cities, adding huge amounts of miles and cost to the project. it went from high speed to just another average speed commuter route,