GovTrack Insider A high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, reaching speeds of up to 220 miles per hour, was approved in 2008. Intended to connect the second- and 13th-largest cities in the U.S., the 520-mile project was slated to cost $33 billion. It was greenlit after approval by 52.6 percent of California voters in a 2008 Election Day referendum.That was then. The rail line was supposed to be fully operational by 2020. By 2021, it’s now running years behind schedule, tens of billions of dollars over budget, and has been shrunk to a plan to connect the medium-sized cities of Merced and Bakersfield instead.Now, the rail line’s proponents are hoping for a potential bailout from President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats.Read More →