While cost overruns are common in government infrastructure projects, the schedule deterioration is the most frustrating. By now we were expecting a fast trip from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and Anaheim. Instead, no track has been laid and we’re now told to expect service along a third of the original route sometime between 2030 and 2033.

And there are good reasons to believe that service will start much later than 2033, if it starts at all. First, the Legislative Analyst Office has determined that the High Speed Rail Authority will not have enough money to complete the 171‐​mile initial operating segment even if it obtains the $8 billion in additional federal grants it is seeking. The legislature could fill this gap by continuing to direct 25 percent of California’s cap‐​and‐​trade revenue beyond its planned 2030 end date.

But the risks transcend construction funding.