The California High-Speed Rail Authority issued a project update for the first time in two years. It’s hard to believe, but the update was more bad news for California’s biggest boondoggle.
The project’s focus has been the Merced-Bakersfield line, which has, of course, ballooned in costs and had its deadline pushed back years. The Central Valley section of the line now has the optimistic operation date of 2032, two years later than the 2030 deadline that was the target as of just a few months ago. (That was changed from 2029 a few years ago, as the deadline keeps getting pushed back.)
The update also showed that the plan may no longer include a Merced-Bakersfield line. Merced could be cut out in favor of Gilroy, meaning that Merced officials have wasted years planning for a project that may no longer include their city. Merced businesses were already forced to relocate to make space for the line to cut through their city. However, the High-Speed Rail Authority determined that Merced wouldn’t help the project make any money once the line theoretically opened, with low estimated ridership numbers that wouldn’t justify the money that would need to be spent on maintenance…