Originally Posted by
anacapamalibu
Is this a joke?
15 years to build 520 miles.
By 2029, planners hope to complete the first 520 miles linking the new Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
China has the world's longest HSR network with over 19,369.8 km (12,035.8 mi) of track in service as of December 2014.
http://www.latimes.com/local/califor...ry.html#page=1
Pffft, that's schoolboy amateur hour compared to the UK. 20 years and 43 Billion pound for 200 ish miles of track that will shave 30 mins off the journey time between London and Birmingham.
That's if the Home Counties NIMBY's don't disrupt construction using flaming torches made from rolled up copies of The Telegraph.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Speed_2
(High Speed 1 was the Channel Tunnel BTW)