Our current estimate is $65 billion, a big difference from the official $43 billion number. Why so different?
The $43 billion number assumed that the project was largely unchanged from its 2005 configuration. Important (and expensive) changes have been made since then but no updated number has been released. A new cost number was to be included in a February 2, 2011 updated Business Plan, but that plan has been delayed. There is no reason that the Authority could not release their working estimate for capital costs.
CARRD’s 3-page summary of the issues and costs: CARRD Capital Cost Estimate February 2011 v1.2
CARRD’s spreadsheet of the estimated costs: CARRD Capital Cost Estimate Spreadsheet v1.2. We post this excel spreadsheeet so others may use it as a starting point for analysis.
On February 9 the High Speed Rail Authority posted a “Request for Expressions of Interest”. This document details specific cost elements for all segments of the project, to which we suggest that they update their cost estimates to reflect the different alternatives being considered.
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