Letters to the Editor: A subsidized Central Valley bullet train isn’t what we voted for

To the editor: Please, put us out of our bullet-train misery. (“California bullet train could end up needing subsidies, despite promises to voters,” May 27).

The high-speed rail project as it stands now is nothing like what voters approved in 2008. We supported a 200-mph train that went from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area in just over two hours with fares less than an airline ticket over the same distance.

What has emerged is nothing like that. Zigzagging to Palmdale and stopping in Bakersfield, Merced and Stockton were not what was promised. It was to run without subsidies because it would be so popular with Californians. Political infighting and horse trading have destroyed it.

The high-speed rail system as it exists is wholly unworkable and arguably illegal, as it violates the originally promised specifications.

Please just spend the money on efficient commuter rail in urban areas and links between closer-in areas, such as San Jose to Stockton and Los Angeles to the Coachella Valley. The people of California have put our trust in our elected officials, who must honor their commitments.

Paul Moser III, Palm Desert

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To the editor: Honestly, who wants the bullet train? It is over budget, behind schedule and fills a need that doesn’t exist for the majority of Californians. By the time it is finished it will be obsolete.

If the people who are ramming this project down our collective throats really wanted to meet a need with a bullet train, they would lay track between L.A. and Las Vegas. With a reasonable fare to and from, every train car would be packed and the bonds would be paid off in a lot less time.

Kent Grigsby, Riverside