Oh, absolutely, cost is a huge factor. I’m sure Californians are well aware of the cost of a rail project these days.

I do hope part of the cos analysis is likely rent / housing costs paid by the commuters as a result of the build. I tend to think an extended range from higher speeds would decrease total housing costs but I too would want to see figures.

I bet trains win bigly for servicing bedroom communities. A stop is just a stop.

Maybe, but a stop that can be twice as far away while taking the same commute time will probably yield lower housing costs since the amount of housing in an acceptable commute area is going to be much larger.

I was thinking about the amount of infrastructure needed to service the whole project corridor.

Of course it isn't clear how the hyperloop would work in practice, but I doubt a station would be less footprint than a train stop. And running the services simultaneously is probably harder with small shuttles than with a train that just stops at each station. Likely faster, but a lot more complicated.