Photo Credit | California High-Speed Rail Authority
California’s High Speed Rail fiasco is once again drawing criticism as it blows past budget and timeline expectations. At the same time, the success of a recent rail project in Florida shows that most of the blame falls at the feet of California’s liberal leadership.
According to a news report out late last month from local outlet KCRA, the High Speed Rail project’s budget gap has grown over just the last two months to $10.2 billion. Earlier this year, California lawmakers also said that they need another $7 billion by next summer for the project to move forward.
“The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion. Today, the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone would cost more than the original total,” the U.S. Department of Transportation recently said in a press release. “The latest estimate for San Francisco to Los Angeles is $106 billion — more than three times the original cost estimate.”
As a result, DOT has initiated a review of $4 billion in taxpayer funds allocated to the project during former President Joe Biden’s tenure, citing both the budget and timeline failures.
“For too long, taxpayers have subsidized the massively over-budget and delayed California High-Speed Rail project,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “President Trump is right that this project is in dire need of an investigation. That is why I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the CHSRA has followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding. If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States.”
The original project was approved by voters in 2008 under a California finance bond and was reportedly set to cost $33 billion. Today, the budget far exceeds what voters were promised, with a price tag ranging from $88 billion to $128 billion, and an obvious schedule delay from the original bond vote. Officials say only partial completion can be expected by the early 2030s.
Following the repeated failures and cost overruns, Congress is now looking to get involved as well. “I’ve introduced legislation to cut off all future federal funding for California High Speed Rail,” Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) announced on the House floor in May. “I was with Secretary Duffy when he announced an investigation into where the recent federal funding has actually gone, and I have called upon FBI Director Kash Patel to launch an investigation into what happened to the $17 billion that has already been spent.”
“At this point, the cost of the project is estimated to be about $100 billion more than it was initially sold to the public,” Kiley added. “There have been five more CEOs than there have been riders — five CEOs, zero riders.”
Trump has been equally critical of the project, citing its failure as a main reason why California Governor Gavin Newsom would be unsuccessful in a potential 2028 presidential bid.
“I would love him to run for president,” Trump said. “I’d love to see that, but I don’t think he’s going to be running because that one project alone — well, that, and the fires and a lot of other things — pretty much put him out of the race.”
Despite the president’s criticism, Newsom’s revised budget for fiscal year 2026 includes proposed aggressive funding for the project — $1 billion annually under the state’s cap-and-trade program, extending through 2045.
“California’s cap-and-trade program generates public dollars from companies that buy credits at state auctions to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. The money generated is then invested in pollution-reducing projects, such as the electrically powered high-speed rail project,” the Fresno Bee reported.
Yet while the California project flounders, states like Florida prove that intercity train transportation can be done successfully — so long as the right leadership is in place.
Brightline, a privately owned railway running between Miami and Orlando, with plans for expansion to stop in Tampa, took approximately five years to complete. More than one million passengers rode the train in the last year, and the railway expects that number to continue to increase.
Brightline has plans to expand out west, with ambitions to be the first high-speed passenger rail system nationwide. The western project will include service from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, traveling approximately 218 miles with an anticipated ridership of nine million people per year. The project is expected to be completed by the 2028 Olympics, hosted in Los Angeles, well before the projected completion date of California’s high-speed railway.
“The slow progress by CHSRA contrasts with the impressive work of Brightline West to build a high-speed rail system,” DOT has said.
California’s High Speed Rail debacle isn’t a failure of technology — it’s a failure of leadership. Meanwhile, states like Florida are proving that rail can be done quickly, affordably, and effectively when politics and vanity projects take a back seat to sound planning and private sector discipline.
As federal officials launch long-overdue investigations and lawmakers call for a funding freeze, one thing is clear: California’s High Speed Rail isn’t a model for the future — it’s a warning.
Kamden Mulder is a senior at Hillsdale College pursuing a degree in American Studies and Journalism. You can follow her on X @kamdenmulder_.
Personally I could care less that the leftist in California has high speed rail transportation. But if they insist that they must have this I don’t want 1$ of federal taxes to be used on the project. It is a boondoggle that I’m sure is lining the pockets of many leftists politicians. May they all go to hell.
A better, final solution would be federal investigation and prosectution of the primary actors in this bondoggle. This has been the biggest ripoff in the century. Start with the CA legislature.
A better solution might have been in the route selection process. Much of the HSR is built above grade through new right of way that had to be acquired through a lengthy legal process. Rather expensive. An alternative might have been to use the existing Interstate 5 corridor route. Right of way that is already a major transportation corridor with much less need for additional land.
Another alternative that would have improved the safety of the I-5 corridor would be to add additional lanes to I-5 in each direction. Roughly 300 miles of roadway could have been built for the a third of the amount of money already spent and in much less time. Assuming a cost of $20M per mile, then $6B would have been spent with a much grater positive impact on CA transportation. No $17B over 15+ years on a train to nowhere. Boondoggle is an accurate description of this project.
The San Francisco Bay bridge boondogle should have shown the true enept abilities of California’s politicians and bureaucrats. Cost overruns and excuses are their trademarks. Billions for an imaginary train that goes nowhere is just a taste of what a liberal government is capable of, deceiving the public.
Thanks, AMAC, for bringing continued focus on this Newsom-led failed legislation to the light of day. Voters, nationwide, must see what this EVIL POS is all about. This is the only way we have a chance of stopping his Presidential ambitions.
The entire California one party socialist rule has been fleecing the people for decades. A once great state turned into trash.
Brightline had best think long and hard about running so much as a foot of track in the highly restrictive, corrupt, foot dragging over permitting, woke, green, liberal state of California. I’d bet it’s more politics,state restrictions, and corruption holding their rail up than anything else. Better to spend their money in Texas.
I wouldn’t spend a dime on anything Gov. Newsom would be in control of… a bit too much snake oil and not enough integrity there.
I live in CA and I don’t want my $$$ to be spent on the ‘train to nowhere’ and it will NEVER be finished. All it has done in the years since it started is to take away property from farmers and cost taxpayers. Newscum should be put on the tracks and left there until the train comes by.
Here in California,worship of government is complete.The majority believe in the welfare state.They believe that government is there to help them and that private enterprise,companies,are run by greedy,evil people,trying to hurt them.The real money is going to Democrat constituents in California.Way more than what is wasted on the crazy train.
Defund & use whats been built for CalTrans Hwy use alone
How many DIMMs have had their pockets lined with taxpayers’ money from this boondoggle? CA is about the WORST state in the Union. The people running it are a bunch of communist NUTS!
California dreamin’ in living color.
The STUPID Damnocrap and welfare parasite voters continue to elect left-wing, progressive, socialist Commies into office. They haven’t learned a damn thing over the past 75+ years. And because of this CA has become a hell hole of illegal scum, hundreds of thousands of homeless (many of whom are veterans), extremely HIGH CRIME, HIGH DRUG USE, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, EXTRREMELY HIGH TAXES, and residents unable to get any type of home, flood, earthquake, or fire insurance, just to name a few. Thanks to the current governor Newscum (and MANY before him), there ere are no plans to collect and maintain adequate water supply to combat any of the guaranteed fires that ravish the State every single year, etc., etc. etc.
And ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, ARE CAUSED BY DAMNOCRAPS AND THEIR FAILED AND MISERY-CAUSING POLICIES. But yet, DUMBA$$ VOTERS CONTINUE TO ELECT, RE-ELECT, RE-ELECT AGAIN AND THEN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN LEFTWING PROGRRESSIVE SOCIALIST CORRUPT LIBERAL DAMNOCRRAPS.
CA, ENJOY YOUR MISERY.
Another blue state, Hawaii, has a rail system that is billions over budget and years late. Running test runs now for over 2 years with no riders
How many years of failure and overruns do the taxpayers have to provide for the poor leadership in CA. before we say enough is enough. JMO
high-speed rail in California is yet another example of government ripping off taxpayers. What a disgrace!
Follow the money, I’m sure someone is getting rich off this scheme.
Definitely someone lining their pockets wasting time creating whatever “block” to building the infrastructure for this train line. That should have/could have been a done deal before asking for money to build. But rather doing that, countless arguments have been used to justify not going forth just to keep the money coming in. It’s time to cut off the money for this ridiculous farce of a plan that was never intended to be implemented.
Can’t say much, theif of funds by contractor! especially if contractor not held to cost that was promise to complete the project
This whole debacle shows the incompetence of Gavin Newsome and the other liberal elites becoming rich off the working people’s money. Why would anyone want him running anything?
It needs to STOP NOW! We don’t need or want this speed rail. This is government corruption at it’s finest.
California’s liberal leadership. Liberal leadership is an oxymoron, and that’s half wit Newsom and his flying circus.