Californians were scammed by high speed rail

[honest.abe]

47. We have same issue here in Maryland. The Purple Line light rail costs have more than doubled from initial estimates.

However I dont believe we were scammed. A big part of it were NIMBY homeowners filing law suites that delayed everything from starting over a year. That added enormous cost upfront which then ballooned over time. The other issue was major complications building a rail through dense urban areas. I would say those estimating the cost were at fault here since they should have been aware of this but in a bidding contest, bidders tend to be overly optimistic to come out the winner.