LA Times: CA bullet train may not carry passengers before 2030

This article in the LA Times indicates that both the schedule and budget for the San Francisco to Los Angeles train are in serious jeopardy mainly due to tunneling that must occur. As a result, it appears that the initial line between Burbank and Merced may not carry any passengers until after 2030, long after the promised 2022.

LA Times said:

The longest possible tunnel, described as one possible alternative in state documents, would stretch 13.8 miles under the Angeles National Forest. Assuming TBMs started at both ends and advanced at 20 feet a day for 261 days per year the tunnel would take seven years to complete - finishing in 2026. At an advance rate of 10 feet a day, the tunnel would take 14 years to complete.

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LA Times said:

Only after the tunnels are dug can the next phase begin: installation of the tracks and other equipment in the 36 underground miles. By way of comparison, the Swiss are taking another four years after tunneling to install the tracks and equipment in the 35.4-mile-long Gotthard Base Tunnel through the Alps, a project spokesman said. Contractors will take an additional nine months to test the systems.

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While those estimates are based on fairly pessimistic assumptions, they back up those assumptions with quotes from quite a few tunneling experts.

If Californa should be tunneling anywhere it should be to complete the 710 freeway!!

By 2030 the passenger train will be obsolete with Hyperloop emerging.
JMHO