Escalation of commitment to a failing course of action. Has the money spent so far produced anything tangible & usable? Or is it all reports & studies?
Much of the work currently done is grade separation for the existing freight and future high speed rail. Also something like half the cost of the CalTrain electrification was paid for by the CHSR project.
A small amount of track has been laid in the Central Valley. Not enough to be usable for passenger service.