The narration has improved, the filming has improved, the editing has improved, and the construction progress is encouraging. I absolutely love that the CHSRA assisted the communities of the Tulare Lakebed to evacuate livestock and people, this is how we should run government programs. People first. I'm sure this help will make the public in that area more supportive of the project.
@@gooser__43 Doesn't seem to be a problem at all on the Amtrak San Joaquins which incidentally is the train that CAHSR will replace. Your point is nonsense.
@@TohaBgood2 "Doesn't seem to be a problem at all on the Amtrak San Joaquins which incidentally is the train that CAHSR will replace" Ah yes, 30 billion to replace a train that five people were using. Great use of the people's money!
I may not live to ride the train from LA to SF, especially since we now live in Germany, retiring here to be near our grandsons. We still file and pay U. S. and California Income Taxes. We both were educated in the California State University system when it was still affordable (San Diego State!). We heartily endorse using our tax dollars to pay it forward for future Californians. However, if I'm still breathing when it opens, I'm riding! Schöne Grüße aus Nordrhein/Westfalen, Germany
Remembering that Space Karen didn't want this project to go forward (he admitted hyperloop was a deliberate attempt at disrupting HSR) makes me support it all the more. :D
@@tylerkriesel8590 Faster? I don't deny this. However, it never got build past a prototype and in addition, it also would have had a more limited service compared to a traditional train (notice the wye at Chowchilla which connects the Bay Area, the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley all together). Notice that the next best comparison, the Chuo-Shinkansen maglev (i.e. hyperloop without the vacuum), was created because the original Shinkansen was too congested and as such was build as a relief line.
It’s very important this project gets completed. All the naysayers around the country dissing California for their “failed attempts at HSR”, need to see this video of all the hard working craftsmen putting their skills and heart into this project. And once completed America will have an example on how to build these systems across the country and improve on each attempt.
That’s an important thing thing to consider concerning the budget of the project because the reason why it is so expensive is because it is the first project of its type in the country.
California deserves a lot of credit for improving their transportation systems statewide. I don't know of any other state except Washington state that is doing so, correct me if I'm wrong.
The attempt is good but a lot of the mistakes caljfprnia made is pretty bad and the amount of time it took is ridiculous. Copying claifornias model would be too expensive for almost every state. But good attempt tho. Hope it gets built in my lifetime
@@m--a You can't do it yourself if you've never done it before. It's the same principle as the U.S. Interstate system. It took decades to finish, but the expertise was there for decades because of ongoing construction. This country chose not to fund railway construction so we have no expertise in building high speed railways. Had they contracted out to countries that have experience building these, it probably would have been done faster, but then you'd run into the "they took our jobs" crowd. But since this country has no experience building railways, we are where we are.
@@norwegianblue2017 *San Francisco. Endgame for the project is Los Angeles through the central valley to San Fran then a section connecting LA to San Diego. There's also a high speed rail project connecting LA to Las Vegas that'll begin construction soon. Unlike the Europeans, Chinese and Japanese, Americans don't know what it's like having a cost effective HSR that let's you see the beauty of your country in a picturesque sliding screen under freedom and comfort. :)
@@yetga5776 The original plan was to go to San Diego. That is what they told the voters. The whole project is a scam. The one going to Las Vegas will happen because that is being done with private money by a company with a proven track record in Florida.
@@yetga5776right now there is no funding for SF or LA. They're just building Bakersfield or Merced. SF and LA likely won't be completed in our lifetime
Finally a new construction update! It's great seeing how much has been accomplished since the last one, particularly the completion of the Cedar Viaduct. If anyone says nothing is happening on California's high speed rail project, show them this. Things are happening and, just as the narrator says, will ramp up even more.
@@gooser__43 hence why it needs more funding. It needs the same level of financial support as highway projects if it’s ever going to reach SF or LA. It has enough available right now to get the 119 miles done, needing the $8 billion in new federal funding they’re competing for to complete the extensions to Merced and Bakersfield.
I recently heard a quote, “Cheap things have no value and valuable things don't come cheap.” That quote is a perfect description of this high speed rail project.
@@bostonbugni4347 that was kinda the first of it's kind, it was in 1950s! 70+ years ago! the US could take some lessons from it (and from europe's and even chinese experience, but...), no excuses for the US
When I was younger, I thought it was a dumb idea to have a train connecting LA to SF, but now (albeit we probably wont see that for another decade or so) I'm eager too see more modes of transportation than just driving [or flying] and that won't be relatively slow
"I'm eager too see more modes of transportation than just driving [or flying] and that won't be relatively slow" The main way people go there is flying because it is by far the fastest way, and will remain the fastest even if CAHSR were completed, which it won't be, because they want 100 billion. At best, we'll connect to the original San Juaquins track so you can go to Martinez and then down to San Jose. Maybe someday, if they save up the funds they get from cap and trade, they will extend to Palmdale, but I doubt it.
@@neutrino78x Were you looking for an argument? This is the fifth or so comment I have seen from you. I get it; I do that too sometimes when I want to feel angry. I disagree with your position though. HSR is costly to build, but it has a great benefit to the regions it serves, even outside of monetary profit. I am of the opinion that a large number of its potential riders will be commuters to jobs that will develop around the stations. And just because flight is the fastest convenient option now on this route, does not mean that no other means of travel can replace it. Personally, I am of the opinion that rail is much more convenient to aircraft, when one considers travel to and from the airport, security, and the many possibility of delays, not forgetting passenger comfort. Train stations are normally closer to the city centers, have no security to get through, when on private modern lines notably punctual, and considerably comfortable compared to air travel.
@@potblack6043 " HSR is costly to build, " Yes, to the point that we can't afford it. I don't know why some of you guys don't understand that. We don't have 100 billion available as a state, understand? "I am of the opinion that a large number of its potential riders will be commuters to jobs" Yes, because so many people commute from SF to LA. "Personally, I am of the opinion that rail is much more convenient to aircraft" Now when it takes three or four times longer, I'm sorry.
@@neutrino78x Cheap rebuke, but most government funded mega-projects in the world aren't built through money immediately available but money committed to be spent. This trend of a ballooning budget is common with HSR projects dating back to the first in Japan. Yet in spite of cost, most ultimately were completed, and nobody regrets having built them. "I am of the opinion that a large number of its potential riders will be commuters to jobs"..."that will develop around the stations." You missed the point I was making here. Very few people would ride from end to end like that as part of a twice daily commute. A weekly commute I could see as a possibility. The point is that cities along the route will experience development as a result of HSR, and people will commute between these cities to business that haven't yet been built. Stations in areas that seem out of the way today will be vibrant urban districts at least 40 years after they open for riders. Maybe sooner. This last is my personal opinion based on my personal experience with rail. I live in a rural part of the northeast. Say I wanted to go to NYC. That's a three drive. The nearest airport is 1 hour away, which is also the same distance to the nearest train station. A plane would get me to my destination faster, in under an hour, while a train is 3 hours. But a plane ticket is over $200 and a train is $40. i can only take one carry-on bag on the plane, but I can take two carry-on's and two personal bags on the train. The seats are larger and more comfortable, and I can get up and walk if I want to. the plane drops me outside the city, so I still need to spend 40 minutes on public transportation to get to my destination. The train lets me off inside the city, so I could walk to my destination if wanted. Delays still occur, but aren't as common as elsewhere in the nation, as Amtrak actually owns the corridor and track I travel over.
@@neutrino78x you realize travel time on the plane isn’t all the plane right? You still have to get to the airport, show up 1-2 hours early, deal with baggage and security, etc.
we’re getting this high speed rail regardless of the naysayers!! states across the country will look to us as a model and will be able to make cheaper and more economical high speed rail thanks to california.
I’m on holiday in the US and yesterday took Low Speed Rail from LAX to EMY. 12 hours with amazing scenery - great for us tourists but maybe less so for folks wanting to get there faster than driving! It’s interesting to see how things are progressing!
"great for us tourists but maybe less so for folks wanting to get there faster than driving! " We just fly, dude. Just like in Europe, if you want to go from London to Rome, you don't take the HSR, you fly.
@@neutrino78x well yeah? But the difference is that London and Rome are over 1000 miles away from each other LA and SF are under 400 miles from each other. Ofc no European is taking the train from London to Rome
@@tworoyboys208 "well yeah? But the difference is that London and Rome are over 1000 miles away from each other....Ofc no European is taking the train from London to Rome" No European would take a train 400 miles either, unless he has three or four hours to waste. 80% of all travel on the ground in Europe is done with cars, man. If it's 400 miles (643 km) they would just fly, like we do. SF has density approaching the average European city, but Los Angeles does not. So you're going from a dense area to a very sparse area, and it's over a long distance. Everybody flies this route, man. There's no problem here needing to be solved. If I-5 and 99 had heavy passenger car traffic.......maybe. But they don't. Because everybody flies.
No Europeans take trains from Berlin to Munich (360mi)? I really doubt that no one is doing that. Actually, 2m people took it in the first six months. Besides, flying takes just as long if not longer when you have to deal with all the airport crap. Planes are bad for atmospheric pollution. It is a good program - despite your bias against it.
Glad to hear Karen Massie's voice again. She's the voice of CAHSR. Glad to see a lot of projects being completed, bringing us closer to track and systems installation. I wonder if Ralph Vartebedian will report on this or will he continue with his biased, negative reporting. Looking forward to more progress.
well I mean, it's closer to completing Merced to Bakersfield, which is all that's ever going to be constructed. So what has changed that he should report?
@@TheRailwayDrone "I'm sure he'll find something negative to report." You misunderstood me. It's a huge waste of money, so yes, it's negative. Especially in this post covid time when most transit is hurting for riders. Even this small section is going to be an albatross around the neck of this state. But at least the Governor had the good sense to end it and say there will be no more construction beyond Merced to Bakersfield.
this was a pretty solid quality video, good overview and editing. My only gripe is that now i need to go and look at a map to see where these counties are on the route (i am not an american), is it possible that a little motion google earth graphic could show where on the route it is rather than just a static of the section itself?
We rode the Shinkansen last month Yokohama to Hammamatsu round trip to visit the Yamaha Innovation Road Museum. It was the slow 175 mph line but still very efficient, and fun.
The actual average speed between Yokohama and Hammamatsu is under 100 mph for the fast 177 mph top speed trains. But there's only one train like that per hour. The vast majority of Shinkansens never crack 150 mph top speed on that segment and travel much slower for most of the route. Overall, a very similar service to the Acela. Very similar legacy corridor with upgraded speeds up to near-modern HSR standards. And this is not a "slow" corridor by Japanese standards. The vast majority of their lines top out at about 150-160 mph in actual operations. They have few lines that are faster, but they're oddities. They have decided that more than 150 mph is not necessary for destinations that are so closely clustered. And you can always run a faster express if there's demand, which is exactly what they are doing. People really need to learn about these HSR networks if they want us to build one. It's ridiculous how unrealistic some people are about these trains. If our collective heads are so far up our collective backsides, we're just setting ourselves up for major disappointments.
I highly support this project. This will be incredible for the Californian economy and infrastructure development, so it’s terrible to see the negative press from large corporations that lobby against this project and people who think driving a car is the only way to get around
"people who think driving a car is the only way to get around" Uh, nobody drives that distance dude. There's no traffic on I-5 from SF all the way to LA. People FLY. And an HSR from merced to bakersfield won't change that, and it's so slow that even when connected to San Juaquins and to Palmdale, flying will still be much faster.
@@neutrino78x You're seriously going to assert that nobody drives between SF and LA? I've done it myself. In fact, the route of I-5 was chosen back in the 60s to be on the west side of the valley in order to shorten the driving time between these two cities.
@@compdude100 "You're seriously going to assert that nobody drives between SF and LA? " Yep. It's a five or six hour drive. Most of the traffic on I-5 is cargo trucks, and the vast majority of us who go between SF and LA fly, because it's quite a bit faster than driving, and would be quite a bit faster than the proposed HSR. Just at the traffic map on 511. Highway 99 and I-5 are both green. "In fact, the route of I-5 was chosen back in the 60s to be on the west side of the valley in order to shorten the driving time between these two cities." Too bad this stupid project doesn't use I-5. So glad I voted no on this stupid braindead project.
@@protonneutron9046 " Did you forget how to do basic math?" lmao that's "railfans" for you. These guys hear "HSR" and they start foaming at the mouth and lose all rationality! lmao. Those of us who aren't railfans read Proposition 1A and saw all the problems with it and voted no. 🙂 Not just Republicans (I am a centrist Democrat), but anybody who's fiscally conservative voted no on this stupid project. 🙂 But you know what I really think it is beyond that, I think a lot of people who aren't railfans also just didn't take the time to read the measure, and they thought, "ok, HSR, that will help me with my commute", without giving it much thought. They forgot that the traffic in Los Angeles and San Francisco is not traffic BETWEEN LA and SF...and the problem is, the CAHSR address travel between SF and LA, not WITHIN. So for example, it does nothing to address the traffic on 405 in Los Angeles or 101 here in the Bay Area. But it was on the ballot next to the first African-American who had a good chance at being President, so people came off feeling good for voting for Barack Obama -- which is good, I voted for him both times, great President -- and then thought HSR was also a good idea, again, without putting much thought into it. I feel like if they went back to the people for more money, it would be voted down. I hope. 🙂
I’m so happy to see the progress of California high speed railway into reality. Japan has the technology 50 years ago. It’s time for us to start catching up
It’s great that the California High Speed rail project is making progress and also helping communities that have been affected by flooding and the much needed rains. The vast majority of critics who bash California have never been in California and never will, they live in states that love bashingCalifornia, New Jersey also gets bashed, but not New York which perfected high taxes that were invented by King Charles III ancestor King George III. In Texas the Texas Central railroad haven’t even broke ground on the Houston to Dallas high speed rail line yet. High speed rail is jobs, travel choices that are better than driving on chocked clogged freeways in most major metro areas in our countries most populated states.
@@Geofrmda758 They are going to be tunneling through the mountains before those 3 years, it’s just that they will be able to operate the first segment in 2030 and they will finish the rest the 3 years after. The construction on the last segment doesn’t start construction in 2030 it will be started earlier just take longer to complete.
I'm from Canada and hope this gets done for you guys, American corporations will try and drag this on as long as possible and inflate how much money they get. So sooner the better.
This nicely demonstrates that large infrastructure projects like HSR are indeed very arduous, long, and complicated. But it also nicely demonstrates that that's all still perfectly doable when you have the political will to make it so. 👍
Yes, but it's also unfortunate that there isn't much more federal support for these transformational mega projects that will not only benefit CA but the nation at large over the long term. Very different from countries in Asia and Europe where the national governments are much more supportive of these types of projects. It's one of the reasons that the USA has no working HSR while other countries have had it for decades.
yes....merced to bakersfield....so impressive. And because somebody thought they can waste as much money as they want, because they're going to make a wheel on rail train that beats an AIRPLANE at 380 miles distance, all we get is Merced to Bakersfield for the foreseeable future. So glad I voted no. Very proud of my vote.
@@neutrino78x Merced to Bakersfield will be the first phase to open. One of the reasons to finish that section first is because they will be able to use it to test the trains at speeds of 220 mph. The US has no dedicated tracks of any significant length that can do that now. It's good that CAHSR doesn't have the shortsighted frame of mind that you have. Many important pubic mega projects have followed histories and in the end turned out to be hugely beneficial for our country over the long run.
@@theexmann "Merced to Bakersfield will be the first phase to open" First and last, yes. "It's good that CAHSR doesn't have the shortsighted frame of mind that you have" It's good that the Governor and the Legislature understand in this instance that our budget is limited.
As a Californian who moved to, and still lives in Japan, having high speed rail connecting major urban centers in California is so exciting. My only concern is the lack of robust transportation within the cities themselves. As it stands right now, you have to drive it seems to the station, and then likely rent a car on the other end as well. I think there needs to be a huge push for strong and safe public transit in order to get from your origin point to the HSR station and then from the HSR station on the other end to your destination, without any reliance on car transit. That being said though, I really hope this project marks the beginning for a revolution of transit infrastructure within California, and that the state can become an example to the rest of the country on how to modernize, reduce reliance on cars, and be more human-friendly.
There is good transportation in the biggest cities served by CA HSR. San Francisco in particular, but also LA, and to a lesser extent San Jose, San Diego, and Sacramento (which aren't great, but at least they have light rail systems). The rest of the cities served by it, which are mostly in the central valley, have poor public transit though, relying on anemic bus systems and amtrak. But one of the goals of CA HSR is to revitalize those central valley cities, and spark new development (and local transit improvements)...but of course that will only really take off once the Bay Area and LA are attached to the system. Hopefully they get some extra funding soon, and speed the construction up.
@@protonneutron9046 The proposed time is about 2 and a half hours I believe, which is already much much faster than a car, and although the in flight time is shorter, you have to get the airport 2 hours before boarding, then it’s another 30 minutes to take off and then you also have to deal with TSA and baggage limits etc etc. Going to the airport for such a short flight is frankly just a pain in the ass. Hopping on and off a train is easy and you then you’re already in the city center. That’s where my original though comes into play though, is as it stands at the moment you’d likely have to rent a car at the destination, but if there was good local transit as well, life would be so much better for Californians, and if you still want to drive, there would much less traffic with more people hopefully utilizing better public transit.
@@JustinParzik OMFG! The route from SF to LA is over 500 miles and the trip will be >5 hours long! And THAT is if it doesn't make any stops. I rode my motorcycle in a rain storm, from Santa Cruz to LA, AT NIGHT, in 4 hours. HSR is a completely antiquated, expensive system.
@@protonneutron9046 You have anything to back that up? Lol And how antiquated of you, riding a motorcycle, such an outdated piece of technology, over 100 years old!
Only 60 years behind Japan and 30+ years behind South Korea. The U.S. is finally rising to the status of "developing country." Welcome to the 20th century California!!
@@TohaBgood2 Just read that Acela reaches 240km/hour on part of the route. The KTX goes up to 300km/hour. Look at the whole rail network and U.S. infrastructure as a whole. It's backward and shocking to visitors from East Asia.
@@allgood21c And the non-prettified portions of the rail networks in those countries can be utterly shocking to most US travelers. You all act like the KTX system is all of Korean rail. I've been to Korea and a lot of other places. There are nice stations and services like the Acela, the Pacific Surfliner, and the Capitol Corridor, but there are also complete trash services and stations as well. This is especially true in Europe. If you listen only to transit youtubers you'd think that every single rail line in the US is the TGV. In reality most local trains are kind of awful. In Italy, you'd have to pay _me_ to take anything but the brand new and higher speed services. The local trains are often graffiti-covered post-apocalyptic garbage. Same thing in all of Eastern Europe and most of Western Europe. In China, you just don't ever want to set foot on anything that isn't a rebranded Siemens Velaro train, trust me! In Japan, half of their HSR services have a slower average speed than the Acela. Many much slower lines still sport that sweet JR Shinkansen branding but are in fact slower than taking a cab.
This project is what the United States needs. I'm in Europe now and the United States needs a passenger rail network that rivals China and Switzerland. This is a great start.
Here in FL, Brightline is opening its line from Orlando to Miami. In certain areas, the train will hit 110 mph. Next up is Orlando to Tampa. And Brightline is starting construction on track from L.A. area to Las Vegas.
We already have a train like Brightline. It's called the San Joaquins. It has the same top and average speeds as the current Brightline train. It's now going to use the exact same Siemens trains. The whole point of CAHSR is to replace that train with an actual HSR line, not a half measure like Brightline.
Well hopefully y'all will get more funding so this project can get completed in a timely manner, even though i doubt phase 2 to Sacramento and San Diego will happen but hopefully it will
@@m--a Really? I've been told it's way OVER budget which is different than not given enough budget. Is there somewhere we can see the earned value for this project? How much budgeted versus how much spent?
@@qmoonwalker3847 idk where you can see the earned value, but I know that not enough funds have been allocated to CaHSR compared to what they should have allocated to it at this point in the project.
Keep up the good work guys! Don’t let the naysayers and external circumstances get to you. Being able to ride this one day would be a game changer and I’d find myself visiting San Francisco and the Bay Area much more often.
Where are these billionaires when you need them? Stop being selfish and fund this project. You will still have more than enough money left over afterwards (especially if two or more of you contribute towards it).
I see a lot of positive comments here. I believe the US is way behind in our public transportation efforts. It's good to hear about progress. My biggest concern is cost and cost over run. Can you direct me to website that outlines your earned value and schedule of this project? Thanks
Lol, you people are still trying with this nonsense propaganda? 😁😁😁 Both additional electricity generation capacity and storage is being built for this project. You people need better propaganda. Your side has completely failed at cancelling this project.
The narration has improved, the filming has improved, the editing has improved, and the construction progress is encouraging.
I absolutely love that the CHSRA assisted the communities of the Tulare Lakebed to evacuate livestock and people, this is how we should run government programs. People first. I'm sure this help will make the public in that area more supportive of the project.
@@gooser__43 so 9000 times safer than driving then?
@@gooser__43 cool, any reason why I would care?
@@gooser__43 any reason I would care about homeless people using a train?
@@gooser__43 Doesn't seem to be a problem at all on the Amtrak San Joaquins which incidentally is the train that CAHSR will replace. Your point is nonsense.
@@TohaBgood2
"Doesn't seem to be a problem at all on the Amtrak San Joaquins which incidentally is the train that CAHSR will replace"
Ah yes, 30 billion to replace a train that five people were using.
Great use of the people's money!
As a CA resident and tax payer, I find these videos very interesting.
I look forward to taking my boys from LA to SF when it’s all done !
I may not live to ride the train from LA to SF, especially since we now live in Germany, retiring here to be near our grandsons. We still file and pay U. S. and California Income Taxes. We both were educated in the California State University system when it was still affordable (San Diego State!). We heartily endorse using our tax dollars to pay it forward for future Californians. However, if I'm still breathing when it opens, I'm riding! Schöne Grüße aus Nordrhein/Westfalen, Germany
Same bro. Just the opposite way
I’m excited to take this train as well but I’m afraid your boys will be men by the time it’s complete
That’s not until 2033
@@ripjawfang20 b-b-b-boys2men
Remembering that Space Karen didn't want this project to go forward (he admitted hyperloop was a deliberate attempt at disrupting HSR) makes me support it all the more. :D
Space Karen! Sorry, stealing this!
We absolutely need to make this a thing! This should have been Musk's nickname all along!
What a tool.
Wouldn’t hyper-loop be faster?
@@tylerkriesel8590 Faster? I don't deny this. However, it never got build past a prototype and in addition, it also would have had a more limited service compared to a traditional train (notice the wye at Chowchilla which connects the Bay Area, the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley all together). Notice that the next best comparison, the Chuo-Shinkansen maglev (i.e. hyperloop without the vacuum), was created because the original Shinkansen was too congested and as such was build as a relief line.
Speed isn’t everything. Hyper loop has many other shortcomings such as capacity, cost, and general engineering issues that have not yet been perfected
It’s very important this project gets completed.
All the naysayers around the country dissing California for their “failed attempts at HSR”, need to see this video of all the hard working craftsmen putting their skills and heart into this project.
And once completed America will have an example on how to build these systems across the country and improve on each attempt.
That’s an important thing thing to consider concerning the budget of the project because the reason why it is so expensive is because it is the first project of its type in the country.
California deserves a lot of credit for improving their transportation systems statewide. I don't know of any other state except Washington state that is doing so, correct me if I'm wrong.
The attempt is good but a lot of the mistakes caljfprnia made is pretty bad and the amount of time it took is ridiculous. Copying claifornias model would be too expensive for almost every state. But good attempt tho. Hope it gets built in my lifetime
@@Meinan4370 I think their biggest mistake was to contract out the work rather than do it themselves.
@@m--a You can't do it yourself if you've never done it before. It's the same principle as the U.S. Interstate system. It took decades to finish, but the expertise was there for decades because of ongoing construction. This country chose not to fund railway construction so we have no expertise in building high speed railways. Had they contracted out to countries that have experience building these, it probably would have been done faster, but then you'd run into the "they took our jobs" crowd. But since this country has no experience building railways, we are where we are.
America is back and going PROGRESS! So many jobs, better commute.
Yay, we can commute to Fresno!
@@norwegianblue2017 *San Francisco. Endgame for the project is Los Angeles through the central valley to San Fran then a section connecting LA to San Diego. There's also a high speed rail project connecting LA to Las Vegas that'll begin construction soon. Unlike the Europeans, Chinese and Japanese, Americans don't know what it's like having a cost effective HSR that let's you see the beauty of your country in a picturesque sliding screen under freedom and comfort. :)
@@yetga5776 The original plan was to go to San Diego. That is what they told the voters. The whole project is a scam. The one going to Las Vegas will happen because that is being done with private money by a company with a proven track record in Florida.
@@yetga5776right now there is no funding for SF or LA. They're just building Bakersfield or Merced. SF and LA likely won't be completed in our lifetime
Finally a new construction update! It's great seeing how much has been accomplished since the last one, particularly the completion of the Cedar Viaduct.
If anyone says nothing is happening on California's high speed rail project, show them this. Things are happening and, just as the narrator says, will ramp up even more.
Lol everyone I everyone i tell doesn't believe me
Exactly.
I'll check back in ten years
@@MrUranium238 I'm sure you'll check again next week...
@@gooser__43 hence why it needs more funding. It needs the same level of financial support as highway projects if it’s ever going to reach SF or LA. It has enough available right now to get the 119 miles done, needing the $8 billion in new federal funding they’re competing for to complete the extensions to Merced and Bakersfield.
Once it's completed, I need to travel to CA to try out the train. Very exciting. The US needs more, but this is a good start.
I recently heard a quote, “Cheap things have no value and valuable things don't come cheap.” That quote is a perfect description of this high speed rail project.
*laughs in nasa
Even still, wasn’t this originally supposed to only cost $33B? And now it’s more than quintupled?
@@jwil4286the shinkansen did too, but people don't remember that!
@@bostonbugni4347 that was kinda the first of it's kind, it was in 1950s! 70+ years ago! the US could take some lessons from it (and from europe's and even chinese experience, but...), no excuses for the US
@iam.neekeeteen We haven't built high speed rail at all in the US, even with other countries to look at its going to be expensive
When I was younger, I thought it was a dumb idea to have a train connecting LA to SF, but now (albeit we probably wont see that for another decade or so) I'm eager too see more modes of transportation than just driving [or flying] and that won't be relatively slow
"I'm eager too see more modes of transportation than just driving [or flying] and that won't be relatively slow"
The main way people go there is flying because it is by far the fastest way, and will remain the fastest even if CAHSR were completed, which it won't be, because they want 100 billion.
At best, we'll connect to the original San Juaquins track so you can go to Martinez and then down to San Jose.
Maybe someday, if they save up the funds they get from cap and trade, they will extend to Palmdale, but I doubt it.
@@neutrino78x Were you looking for an argument? This is the fifth or so comment I have seen from you. I get it; I do that too sometimes when I want to feel angry. I disagree with your position though. HSR is costly to build, but it has a great benefit to the regions it serves, even outside of monetary profit.
I am of the opinion that a large number of its potential riders will be commuters to jobs that will develop around the stations. And just because flight is the fastest convenient option now on this route, does not mean that no other means of travel can replace it.
Personally, I am of the opinion that rail is much more convenient to aircraft, when one considers travel to and from the airport, security, and the many possibility of delays, not forgetting passenger comfort. Train stations are normally closer to the city centers, have no security to get through, when on private modern lines notably punctual, and considerably comfortable compared to air travel.
@@potblack6043
" HSR is costly to build, "
Yes, to the point that we can't afford it.
I don't know why some of you guys don't understand that. We don't have 100 billion available as a state, understand?
"I am of the opinion that a large number of its potential riders will be commuters to jobs"
Yes, because so many people commute from SF to LA.
"Personally, I am of the opinion that rail is much more convenient to aircraft"
Now when it takes three or four times longer, I'm sorry.
@@neutrino78x Cheap rebuke, but most government funded mega-projects in the world aren't built through money immediately available but money committed to be spent. This trend of a ballooning budget is common with HSR projects dating back to the first in Japan. Yet in spite of cost, most ultimately were completed, and nobody regrets having built them.
"I am of the opinion that a large number of its potential riders will be commuters to jobs"..."that will develop around the stations." You missed the point I was making here. Very few people would ride from end to end like that as part of a twice daily commute. A weekly commute I could see as a possibility. The point is that cities along the route will experience development as a result of HSR, and people will commute between these cities to business that haven't yet been built. Stations in areas that seem out of the way today will be vibrant urban districts at least 40 years after they open for riders. Maybe sooner.
This last is my personal opinion based on my personal experience with rail. I live in a rural part of the northeast. Say I wanted to go to NYC. That's a three drive. The nearest airport is 1 hour away, which is also the same distance to the nearest train station. A plane would get me to my destination faster, in under an hour, while a train is 3 hours. But a plane ticket is over $200 and a train is $40. i can only take one carry-on bag on the plane, but I can take two carry-on's and two personal bags on the train. The seats are larger and more comfortable, and I can get up and walk if I want to. the plane drops me outside the city, so I still need to spend 40 minutes on public transportation to get to my destination. The train lets me off inside the city, so I could walk to my destination if wanted. Delays still occur, but aren't as common as elsewhere in the nation, as Amtrak actually owns the corridor and track I travel over.
@@neutrino78x you realize travel time on the plane isn’t all the plane right? You still have to get to the airport, show up 1-2 hours early, deal with baggage and security, etc.
Please keep getting these updates out. There are quite few misinformation videos out there, specifically about Califronia HSR.
We just returned from Japan and wondered why we don't have a high-speed train yet. Looking forward to this project's completion. Thank you!
look at who is against it and who supports them. that is your answer.
we’re getting this high speed rail regardless of the naysayers!! states across the country will look to us as a model and will be able to make cheaper and more economical high speed rail thanks to california.
You're delusional. This will never be completed.
@@carsonfran come back to this comment in 10 years
@@weirdfish1216 oh I will.
@@weirdfish1216 setting calendar reminder for May 2033
@@weenisw same LOL
I’m on holiday in the US and yesterday took Low Speed Rail from LAX to EMY. 12 hours with amazing scenery - great for us tourists but maybe less so for folks wanting to get there faster than driving! It’s interesting to see how things are progressing!
"great for us tourists but maybe less so for folks wanting to get there faster than driving! "
We just fly, dude.
Just like in Europe, if you want to go from London to Rome, you don't take the HSR, you fly.
@@neutrino78x well yeah? But the difference is that London and Rome are over 1000 miles away from each other LA and SF are under 400 miles from each other. Ofc no European is taking the train from London to Rome
@@tworoyboys208
"well yeah? But the difference is that London and Rome are over 1000 miles away from each other....Ofc no European is taking the train from London to Rome"
No European would take a train 400 miles either, unless he has three or four hours to waste. 80% of all travel on the ground in Europe is done with cars, man. If it's 400 miles (643 km) they would just fly, like we do.
SF has density approaching the average European city, but Los Angeles does not. So you're going from a dense area to a very sparse area, and it's over a long distance.
Everybody flies this route, man. There's no problem here needing to be solved. If I-5 and 99 had heavy passenger car traffic.......maybe. But they don't. Because everybody flies.
No Europeans take trains from Berlin to Munich (360mi)? I really doubt that no one is doing that. Actually, 2m people took it in the first six months. Besides, flying takes just as long if not longer when you have to deal with all the airport crap. Planes are bad for atmospheric pollution. It is a good program - despite your bias against it.
@@neutrino78x Everyone flies because theyre's nothing better. This will be better, and it's getting built whether or not you like it
Glad to hear Karen Massie's voice again. She's the voice of CAHSR. Glad to see a lot of projects being completed, bringing us closer to track and systems installation. I wonder if Ralph Vartebedian will report on this or will he continue with his biased, negative reporting.
Looking forward to more progress.
Same, Miss Karen is like the voice of this project and it was not the same without her. So glad she’s back!
well I mean, it's closer to completing Merced to Bakersfield, which is all that's ever going to be constructed. So what has changed that he should report?
@@neutrino78x I'm sure he'll find something negative to report.
@@TheRailwayDrone
"I'm sure he'll find something negative to report."
You misunderstood me. It's a huge waste of money, so yes, it's negative.
Especially in this post covid time when most transit is hurting for riders. Even this small section is going to be an albatross around the neck of this state. But at least the Governor had the good sense to end it and say there will be no more construction beyond Merced to Bakersfield.
@@neutrino78x No, I did not misunderstand you. I simply chose not to get into a debate with you and your shortsighted mindset. Have a wonderful day!
We all need to make sure this gets built. It will be a good thing
Good will from France, keep doing! This is absolutely the future, you not gonna regret it
this was a pretty solid quality video, good overview and editing. My only gripe is that now i need to go and look at a map to see where these counties are on the route (i am not an american), is it possible that a little motion google earth graphic could show where on the route it is rather than just a static of the section itself?
www.BuildHSR.com has some excellent mapping for each location.
@@cahsra thank you
Really cool to see progress on this. Excited to see it finished.
I'm So glad the Narrator came back!!!!
We rode the Shinkansen last month Yokohama to Hammamatsu round trip to visit the Yamaha Innovation Road Museum. It was the slow 175 mph line but still very efficient, and fun.
The actual average speed between Yokohama and Hammamatsu is under 100 mph for the fast 177 mph top speed trains. But there's only one train like that per hour. The vast majority of Shinkansens never crack 150 mph top speed on that segment and travel much slower for most of the route. Overall, a very similar service to the Acela. Very similar legacy corridor with upgraded speeds up to near-modern HSR standards.
And this is not a "slow" corridor by Japanese standards. The vast majority of their lines top out at about 150-160 mph in actual operations. They have few lines that are faster, but they're oddities. They have decided that more than 150 mph is not necessary for destinations that are so closely clustered. And you can always run a faster express if there's demand, which is exactly what they are doing.
People really need to learn about these HSR networks if they want us to build one. It's ridiculous how unrealistic some people are about these trains. If our collective heads are so far up our collective backsides, we're just setting ourselves up for major disappointments.
Beautiful! Love to see all this progress on CAHSR!
Also, so glad that they got Karen Massie to come back to do these voiceovers! She's a legend!
Hi there Bgood!!!!
I highly support this project. This will be incredible for the Californian economy and infrastructure development, so it’s terrible to see the negative press from large corporations that lobby against this project and people who think driving a car is the only way to get around
"people who think driving a car is the only way to get around"
Uh, nobody drives that distance dude. There's no traffic on I-5 from SF all the way to LA.
People FLY.
And an HSR from merced to bakersfield won't change that, and it's so slow that even when connected to San Juaquins and to Palmdale, flying will still be much faster.
@@neutrino78x You're seriously going to assert that nobody drives between SF and LA? I've done it myself. In fact, the route of I-5 was chosen back in the 60s to be on the west side of the valley in order to shorten the driving time between these two cities.
@@compdude100
"You're seriously going to assert that nobody drives between SF and LA? "
Yep. It's a five or six hour drive. Most of the traffic on I-5 is cargo trucks, and the vast majority of us who go between SF and LA fly, because it's quite a bit faster than driving, and would be quite a bit faster than the proposed HSR.
Just at the traffic map on 511. Highway 99 and I-5 are both green.
"In fact, the route of I-5 was chosen back in the 60s to be on the west side of the valley in order to shorten the driving time between these two cities."
Too bad this stupid project doesn't use I-5. So glad I voted no on this stupid braindead project.
LMAO! It is a net DRAIN ono state money. Did you forget how to do basic math?
@@protonneutron9046
" Did you forget how to do basic math?"
lmao that's "railfans" for you. These guys hear "HSR" and they start foaming at the mouth and lose all rationality! lmao.
Those of us who aren't railfans read Proposition 1A and saw all the problems with it and voted no. 🙂 Not just Republicans (I am a centrist Democrat), but anybody who's fiscally conservative voted no on this stupid project. 🙂
But you know what I really think it is beyond that, I think a lot of people who aren't railfans also just didn't take the time to read the measure, and they thought, "ok, HSR, that will help me with my commute", without giving it much thought. They forgot that the traffic in Los Angeles and San Francisco is not traffic BETWEEN LA and SF...and the problem is, the CAHSR address travel between SF and LA, not WITHIN. So for example, it does nothing to address the traffic on 405 in Los Angeles or 101 here in the Bay Area. But it was on the ballot next to the first African-American who had a good chance at being President, so people came off feeling good for voting for Barack Obama -- which is good, I voted for him both times, great President -- and then thought HSR was also a good idea, again, without putting much thought into it.
I feel like if they went back to the people for more money, it would be voted down. I hope. 🙂
Let’s go California High-Speed Rail.😮
I’m so happy to see the progress of California high speed railway into reality. Japan has the technology 50 years ago. It’s time for us to start catching up
This is all great and I can’t wait! CA will become a model for the rest of the continent regarding intercity rail
I’m so excited they’re giving proper updates on the construction process!! Can’t wait for the next few years til I can finally be on this trip
If you can't wait then I've got bad news for you.
@@daleviker5884 I know :((( this mega project gonna be years and years in the making… I’ll try tone patient
It’s great that the California High Speed rail project is making progress and also helping communities that have been affected by flooding and the much needed rains. The vast majority of critics who bash California have never been in California and never will, they live in states that love bashingCalifornia, New Jersey also gets bashed, but not New York which perfected high taxes that were invented by King Charles III ancestor King George III. In Texas the Texas Central railroad haven’t even broke ground on the Houston to Dallas high speed rail line yet. High speed rail is jobs, travel choices that are better than driving on chocked clogged freeways in most major metro areas in our countries most populated states.
Thanks for the update!
Thanks for that Video. I see that it goes forward. Greetings from Berlin/ Germany. Sven
Yes as a foreigner , i wish CA all the best to complete this HSR to show that US companies can complete this project on schedule. ✌️🌎👍
U.S. companies left this project decades ago. It's 100% run by the state now and will never be completed.
The finished product will be amazing!
Great update! Looks like good progress, if only CAHSR could be fully funded for the entire corridor right now...
Spreading the cost over multiple decades will multiply the final total cost. Sad.
@@inyobill Doesn’t matter, the amount that we dump into road infrastructure far exceeds the long term economics of this HSR construction cost
initial operating segment scheduled to open 2030, full section 2033
@@AshmewStudiosI doubt that no way it takes them 15 years to build the first section and 3 years to tunnel through mountains
@@Geofrmda758 They are going to be tunneling through the mountains before those 3 years, it’s just that they will be able to operate the first segment in 2030 and they will finish the rest the 3 years after. The construction on the last segment doesn’t start construction in 2030 it will be started earlier just take longer to complete.
Amazing work! Can't wait to ride this nation's first high-speed rail line.
it is cool, but I think the private company building the Vegas to rancho cucamonga HSR will finish their project first.
Lol yes you *will* wait. And wait. And wait. I've been dreaming of this train since the frickin 90s. I have given up.
I love this project so much I wish it would go on forever!
I love seeing these construction updates!
I'm not even american but I'm really excited for this!
Excellent report. Nice to see so many of the first construction packages being completed. GO CHSR!!
I'm from Canada and hope this gets done for you guys, American corporations will try and drag this on as long as possible and inflate how much money they get. So sooner the better.
This nicely demonstrates that large infrastructure projects like HSR are indeed very arduous, long, and complicated. But it also nicely demonstrates that that's all still perfectly doable when you have the political will to make it so. 👍
And it'd worth it no matter how many billions it will cost because it creates good Union jobs and economic benefits to an underserved area
Yes, but it's also unfortunate that there isn't much more federal support for these transformational mega projects that will not only benefit CA but the nation at large over the long term. Very different from countries in Asia and Europe where the national governments are much more supportive of these types of projects. It's one of the reasons that the USA has no working HSR while other countries have had it for decades.
yes....merced to bakersfield....so impressive.
And because somebody thought they can waste as much money as they want, because they're going to make a wheel on rail train that beats an AIRPLANE at 380 miles distance, all we get is Merced to Bakersfield for the foreseeable future.
So glad I voted no.
Very proud of my vote.
@@neutrino78x Merced to Bakersfield will be the first phase to open. One of the reasons to finish that section first is because they will be able to use it to test the trains at speeds of 220 mph. The US has no dedicated tracks of any significant length that can do that now.
It's good that CAHSR doesn't have the shortsighted frame of mind that you have. Many important pubic mega projects have followed histories and in the end turned out to be hugely beneficial for our country over the long run.
@@theexmann
"Merced to Bakersfield will be the first phase to open"
First and last, yes.
"It's good that CAHSR doesn't have the shortsighted frame of mind that you have"
It's good that the Governor and the Legislature understand in this instance that our budget is limited.
Great to see real progress on this
She's back! Best commentator on the team. Thanks for the update.
As a Californian who moved to, and still lives in Japan, having high speed rail connecting major urban centers in California is so exciting. My only concern is the lack of robust transportation within the cities themselves. As it stands right now, you have to drive it seems to the station, and then likely rent a car on the other end as well. I think there needs to be a huge push for strong and safe public transit in order to get from your origin point to the HSR station and then from the HSR station on the other end to your destination, without any reliance on car transit.
That being said though, I really hope this project marks the beginning for a revolution of transit infrastructure within California, and that the state can become an example to the rest of the country on how to modernize, reduce reliance on cars, and be more human-friendly.
There is good transportation in the biggest cities served by CA HSR. San Francisco in particular, but also LA, and to a lesser extent San Jose, San Diego, and Sacramento (which aren't great, but at least they have light rail systems). The rest of the cities served by it, which are mostly in the central valley, have poor public transit though, relying on anemic bus systems and amtrak. But one of the goals of CA HSR is to revitalize those central valley cities, and spark new development (and local transit improvements)...but of course that will only really take off once the Bay Area and LA are attached to the system. Hopefully they get some extra funding soon, and speed the construction up.
why travel MORE slowly and more expensively between SF and LA than people do now? Why is that exciting?
@@protonneutron9046 The proposed time is about 2 and a half hours I believe, which is already much much faster than a car, and although the in flight time is shorter, you have to get the airport 2 hours before boarding, then it’s another 30 minutes to take off and then you also have to deal with TSA and baggage limits etc etc. Going to the airport for such a short flight is frankly just a pain in the ass. Hopping on and off a train is easy and you then you’re already in the city center. That’s where my original though comes into play though, is as it stands at the moment you’d likely have to rent a car at the destination, but if there was good local transit as well, life would be so much better for Californians, and if you still want to drive, there would much less traffic with more people hopefully utilizing better public transit.
@@JustinParzik OMFG! The route from SF to LA is over 500 miles and the trip will be >5 hours long! And THAT is if it doesn't make any stops. I rode my motorcycle in a rain storm, from Santa Cruz to LA, AT NIGHT, in 4 hours. HSR is a completely antiquated, expensive system.
@@protonneutron9046 You have anything to back that up? Lol
And how antiquated of you, riding a motorcycle, such an outdated piece of technology, over 100 years old!
Awesome video!
This will be worth it, more mass transport options will be good for the country, hopefully this is a start for more states to build high speed rail.
I hope things dry and those affected crews can get back to work quickly.
BUILD BABY BUILD!!!!
Quite nice to have an update, I’m excited to see this project progress. It’ll especially be nice to see it complete whether a decade or more.
I love this project AND I love all the supportive comments. Great video.
It looks great!!
We need more workers on this man
Very informative video. Thank you!
I want this around the entire nation. I want a network.
great to see the progress, important to show the doubters
Fantastic 👏I know it's not an easy project, for a variety of reasons, but I'm in full support.
GET THIS BULLET TRAIN -BUILDED.IT.-WE WILL RIDE.😂😅😊❤.PLEASE KEEP BUILDING.FINISH PHASE -1 PHASE2 IS GOING TOO START .WE NEED IT.
Been looking forward to this since the mid nineties! Glad to see so much progress!
I love California High-Speed Rail.😮
I think I understand why it's taking so long. That's an incredible amount of work to do
Make the military build it. Give the military budget to the trains. We need less war. We need more trains. It isn't a bad payoff
Bad luck to have to face some of the worst flooding in Lake Tulare since the 19th century. The rest of the project looks to be rolling forward well.
Can't wait to see the project complete! great to see progress as always
Well your gonna HAVE to wait until the 2030s.
@@tylerkriesel8590 Tyler you know big projects take years right? this isn't patching a roof.
@@Joesolo13 years, not decades.
common CAHSR W
Great progress!
so true, couldn't agree more
Only 60 years behind Japan and 30+ years behind South Korea. The U.S. is finally rising to the status of "developing country." Welcome to the 20th century California!!
The US has had HSR since 2000. The Acela has about average speeds compared to most Shinkansen lines. This comment doesn't make any sense.
Better late than never to build HSR.
@@TohaBgood2 Just read that Acela reaches 240km/hour on part of the route. The KTX goes up to 300km/hour. Look at the whole rail network and U.S. infrastructure as a whole. It's backward and shocking to visitors from East Asia.
@TohaBgood2 there was a lot of facts and detail in that comment. What detail doesn't make sense?
@@allgood21c And the non-prettified portions of the rail networks in those countries can be utterly shocking to most US travelers. You all act like the KTX system is all of Korean rail. I've been to Korea and a lot of other places. There are nice stations and services like the Acela, the Pacific Surfliner, and the Capitol Corridor, but there are also complete trash services and stations as well.
This is especially true in Europe. If you listen only to transit youtubers you'd think that every single rail line in the US is the TGV. In reality most local trains are kind of awful. In Italy, you'd have to pay _me_ to take anything but the brand new and higher speed services. The local trains are often graffiti-covered post-apocalyptic garbage. Same thing in all of Eastern Europe and most of Western Europe. In China, you just don't ever want to set foot on anything that isn't a rebranded Siemens Velaro train, trust me!
In Japan, half of their HSR services have a slower average speed than the Acela. Many much slower lines still sport that sweet JR Shinkansen branding but are in fact slower than taking a cab.
Outstanding work by construction workers, electric as , carpenters and engineers.👀♥️💯👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I look forward most to construction from Bakersfield to LA!
Great work! Keep it going.
This is so cool it seems California is now ahead of Texas
When was California behind Texas?
very cool updates!
Would be neat to ride in it, will be a lifetime experience
Needs full funding
I look forward to these updates and I love the lady’s voice and music choice
I SUPPORT THE CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY GODSPEED!
Hope this gets finished in my life time.
Wow, and I thought that project had been killed. I am pleasantly surprised.
Lots of good people getting paychecks.
This is some of the best these United States has to offer. Proud of California!
Can’t wait ❤ keep it up
Great to see all the progress on this extraordinary project. Well done!
Hopefully it will be done in my lifetime!
Well how old are you?
This project is what the United States needs. I'm in Europe now and the United States needs a passenger rail network that rivals China and Switzerland. This is a great start.
Godspeed!
Wasco viaduct is beautiful
i wish we had something like this in TN
Here in FL, Brightline is opening its line from Orlando to Miami. In certain areas, the train will hit 110 mph. Next up is Orlando to Tampa. And Brightline is starting construction on track from L.A. area to Las Vegas.
We already have a train like Brightline. It's called the San Joaquins. It has the same top and average speeds as the current Brightline train. It's now going to use the exact same Siemens trains. The whole point of CAHSR is to replace that train with an actual HSR line, not a half measure like Brightline.
Well hopefully y'all will get more funding so this project can get completed in a timely manner, even though i doubt phase 2 to Sacramento and San Diego will happen but hopefully it will
I think that is very important because the main reason that it is so far behind schedule is because it has not been given enough funding.
@@m--a that and all the environmental groups and land owners suing them but mostly lack of funding
@@m--a Really? I've been told it's way OVER budget which is different than not given enough budget. Is there somewhere we can see the earned value for this project? How much budgeted versus how much spent?
@@qmoonwalker3847 idk where you can see the earned value, but I know that not enough funds have been allocated to CaHSR compared to what they should have allocated to it at this point in the project.
It's great to see so much progress! I love these videos, keep it up. I'm super excited to ride CAHSR one day on the very day it opens.
Keep up the good work guys! Don’t let the naysayers and external circumstances get to you. Being able to ride this one day would be a game changer and I’d find myself visiting San Francisco and the Bay Area much more often.
Ill move back if this train actually happens
Yes and yeah California High-Speed Rail.😮
i like trains
But why isn't it done instantly and for free? don't you know you're going to upset the conservatives?
hope the HSR gets completed soon! I wanna be able to hop on it to visit my friends and family!
Go California High-Speed Rail.😮
Where are these billionaires when you need them? Stop being selfish and fund this project. You will still have more than enough money left over afterwards (especially if two or more of you contribute towards it).
I see a lot of positive comments here. I believe the US is way behind in our public transportation efforts. It's good to hear about progress. My biggest concern is cost and cost over run. Can you direct me to website that outlines your earned value and schedule of this project? Thanks
How far north could this potentially expand in the future? Eugene? Portland? Seattle? Vancouver (BC)?
Maybe. If cascadia high speed rail gets finished
Build California High-Speed Rail and build California High-Speed Rail now from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim and Sacramento to San Diego.😮
Once all the power plants are shut down will this project run at night on calm days? Just curious.
Lol, you people are still trying with this nonsense propaganda? 😁😁😁
Both additional electricity generation capacity and storage is being built for this project. You people need better propaganda. Your side has completely failed at cancelling this project.
@@TohaBgood2 Where is this generation and capacity being built?
Yes SOLAR POWER
:D Love to see it!!
Let's go!