all it takes is a random idiot in Sacramento or DC hellbent on sabotaging the project to change it from a convenient way to get from SF to LA to a one-way ticket from Fresno to Bakersfield. Needless to say, there are lots of random idiots in government ranging from incompetent to hellbent on sabotaging any potentially good government program
I'm not all that familiar with local US politics... why would anyone in government be hell-bent on sabotaging a high-speed rail network that will help their state/county/etc?
The main reason is that what helps the state doesn't necessarily help every county equally. To have high speed rail, you have to have trains that don't stop everywhere. High-speed rail from SF to LA might be good for California, but politicians elected by Fresno and Bakersfield will want it to stop in Fresno and Bakersfield. Which makes it more useful for those people, but less useful as a whole.
I'm not all that familiar with local US politics... why would anyone in government be hell-bent on sabotaging a high-speed rail network that will help their state/county/etc?