California’s high-speed rail boondoggle has become a laughingstock. New cost estimates have been upped to $135 billion–over $100 billion more than originally estimated and the final route from San Francisco to LA has been shelved.

Now, the transit and intercity rail advocates are doubling down and building a SECOND boondoggle leg of its rail train.  It would link the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles, which is parallel to the I-405 San Diego Freeway, then on to Los Angeles International Airport, supposedly by 2040.

The project was costed out at $5.7 billion in 2016 when it was approved. Since then it has risen by one report to $20 to $25 billion.

Already, $20 billion has been spent to build LA’s existing subway and light rail system, but ridership remains well below peak. In 1985, there were 497 million annual boardings on the principal LA public transit system (when there were only buses). By 2024, ridership on both its rail and bus systems had dropped to only 311 million, a loss of 37% and still well below its prepandemic level of 370 million (2019). The subway was supposed to reduce traffic congestion in Los Angeles.  It’s worse than ever.

California can’t build enough houses. It can’t build needed refineries. It can’t build enough water storage facilities. But it is determined to build rail lines to nowhere ridden by no one.