California Gov. Gavin Newsom bragged that the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed rail was “back on track” during his State of the State speech Thursday — despite the project being America’s most expensive train project that has taken years to get rolling.
“Speaking of tracks, we’re finally laying them,” Newsom said, unleashing a greatest-hits style list of progress on the $135 billion project: more than 60 miles of guideway poured in the Central Valley, roughly 50 major structures built, thousands of parcels acquired, and environmental clearance for most of the route.
But critics said the problem isn’t just the pace — it’s the plan itself.
Gov. Newsom joined California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri, local leaders and workers near Bakersfield to break ground on the railhead. Governor Gavin Newsom's Office“It’s in the middle of the state, a train to nowhere on either end right now,” said Bob Anderson, a Sherman Oaks retired engineer who has tracked rail planning for years.
He argued the zigzag route defies the basic logic of high-speed rail.
“Every high-speed rail I’ve ever been on goes straight,” Anderson said. “This thing wiggles all over the place. I remember reading years ago that when it got to LA, they didn’t even know where to connect it — they’d have to build a massive tunnel.”
Newsom pitched the project as the spine of a 21st-century transit future — faster commutes, cleaner travel, and an economic boost for Fresno, Madera and Bakersfield.
A virtual rendering of the California High-Speed Rail project. California High-Speed Rail AuthorityBut many Californians aren’t buying it.
Seventeen years after voters narrowly approved a $10 billion bond to whisk riders between Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours, the train has yet to reach either city. And the estimated cost for the full San Francisco-to-Los Angeles line has ballooned to more than $135 billion.
“It’s the same cost story every time,” Anderson said. “People are tired of being sold low numbers and watching them blow up.”
The original target completion date of 2020 has long passed, while a new target date in the 2030s would only be for a partial Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced — far from the coastal endpoints voters were promised.
The project has also been battered by repeated funding gaps and federal reversals. Billions in federal dollars have been pulled, restored, and pulled again over the years — leaving California taxpayers increasingly on the hook to keep construction alive.
