California’s high-speed rail project just got another cost increase, who could have seen that coming? According to the project’s latest business plan, the project is estimated to cost upwards of $5 billion more than before, or $105 billion. That’s multiples higher than when the project was initially being sold to legislators and voters.

In 2008, voters were told this by proponents of Proposition 1A, which provided bond funding for the project, “Ten years of study and planning have gone into PREPARING FOR construction, financing, and operation of a California bullet train network modeled on popular, reliable, and successful systems in Europe and Asia. Their record shows that High-Speed Trains deliver, both in service and economy.”

At the time, Californians were told the project could cost as low as $33 billion or $45 billion.

So much for a well-planned and cost-effective project providing service and economy.

The comical cost overruns are just one insult to Californians who expected a relatively reasonably priced project that has now ballooned over the course of the last 14 years to a sum of money that, if put toward tangible needs of the state, could go quite far.

Just two years ago, Democrats and public sector unions pitched a $10 billion per year tax increase through a split roll property tax system, which they said was desperately needed, for the children, of course (and definitely not for public sector pensions and contracts). The bullet train is now equivalent to a decade or more of such funding.

But on top of that, the project is many years behind schedule.

Consider an April 2012 report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office noting anticipated completion dates for bullet train construction linking Merced and the San Fernando Valley of 2021.

The project is now at a point where, to be very, very generous, we’d be very fortunate to get to ride a high-speed train between Bakersfield and Merced by 2030. You know, like everyone always dreams about.

Of course, by then, there’d likely be severals billions more in cost increases and delays.

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That is, unless Democrats in the Legislature with any semblance of common sense and integrity derail the project, which is exactly what they should do.

Gov. Gavin Newsom could have demonstrated true leadership and declared the project a failure. But he’s only committed more to it, reflective of how out-of-touch he is with the actual needs of the state.

So, it’s up to Democratic politicians to show leadership. The win is there for the taking.

The bullet train was a bold idea when it was first proposed. But it’s now just a farce. It’s time for state leaders to act like adults and move to kill the project.