HSR: California x 1.3 = Spain

From a discussion I took part in on the California HSR blog, "Jo" pointed out an addendum to my comparison of my France to the midwest cooridor, which showed that France had a similar population, area, and economy to that of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. "Jo" calculated

Spain:

Population: 47,265,000
Area: 195,364 sq mile
Density: 231 sq mile
GDP: $1,497 Trillion

California:

Population: 38,041,000
Area: 163,696 sq mile
Density: 242 sq mile
GDP: $1,9365 Trillion

Or, in other words, Spain, which is building out HSR like crazy, is essentially 1.3 Californias, with a notably smaller economy. If Spain can do it, there certainly is no reason California can't. Thankfully, it looks like the last pieces are falling in place in California and construction is scheduled to begin this year.