California Governor Announces First High-Speed Rail Track to Be Laid in Next Couple of Years

A full-scale mock-up of a high-speed train is displayed at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Feb. 26, 2015. Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

California Gov. Gavin Newsom joined local elected leaders from Kern County and officials with the state’s High-Speed Rail Authority on Jan. 6 for a ceremonial pounding of the first symbolic spikes into the long-awaited track for high-speed trains.

“You want to be big, you’ve got to be big in big things,” Newsom said at the event. “This is the biggest economy in the United States of America ... and it’s about damn time we have a high-speed rail system in the great state of California.”

He shrugged off criticisms from political opponents and those opposed to the project.

“To the cynics that are filled with cynicism that stand on the sidelines and don’t engage, we’re here making this work,” Newsom said. “Finally, we’re at the point where we’re going to start laying down this track in the next couple years.”

The group also celebrated the completion of construction projects meant to prepare land for track-laying on the southernmost part of the line—which will initially run 171 miles between Merced and Bakersfield and ultimately span 463 miles from Los Angeles to the Bay Area, in addition to connecting with another project planned between Southern California and Las Vegas.

“Today we’re recognizing the system’s progress and looking ahead as we advance important partnerships and track work that moves us closer to operations while putting Californians to work,” Ian Choudri, CEO of the rail authority, said in a statement.

“We’re committed to working collaboratively and ultimately developing a modern, interstate high-speed rail network that will not only boost ridership in the Southwest part of the country but bring to the forefront the possibility of delivering high-speed rail benefits sooner.”

Environmental reviews are complete, construction is set to begin for stations and the track, and more than 14,500 jobs have been created since the start of the project, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

“This is about to get very, very real,” Newsom said.

Passengers could begin riding the high-speed trains by as early as 2030, officials estimated.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said the rail system “represents a transformative opportunity for Fresno.”

“It’s not just about getting people where they need to go faster—it’s about connecting our community to the broader state and driving economic growth that will revitalize our downtown and beyond,” he said in a statement. “This project is a bridge between the Bay Area, Southern California, and our vibrant Central Valley, creating new possibilities for our residents and businesses.”

Critics of the plan point to cost overruns and construction delays that will ultimately cost taxpayers billions of dollars more than was originally estimated.

“We’re running out of money, we haven’t even finished the valley portion, much less from San Francisco to Los Angeles,” state Sen. Roger Niello told The Epoch Times. “We don’t know where the money is going to come from to finish the project.”

The state’s rail authority recognized the difficulty of funding the system and states on its website that finding the money is the “biggest challenge ... for delivering the entire high-speed rail system.”

Niello said, “I’d love to see high-speed rail in California, but it’s just beginning to look like we can’t afford it.”

The latest estimates from the state put the total cost between $89 billion and $128 billion, though some analysts expect the numbers to rise.

Much of the backing for the project comes from the state’s cap-and-trade program, which seeks to limit carbon emissions by charging companies that exceed set limits. Other money comes from state funds and federal grants.

The governor acknowledged the fiscal dilemma but remained optimistic.

“We’ve substantially funded this project,” Newsom said. “Yes, there is a gap, but it’s not a gap that we cannot close.”

He thanked President Joe Biden for the more than $6 billion the federal government provided for the high-speed rail project and said California is prepared for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.

“No one’s naive about the headwinds coming our way, but we withstood those a few years back, and we were able to continue to move forward, and I have all the confidence in the world we will move forward,” Newsom said.

Those skeptical of the new rail system’s future sustainability point to the state’s own estimates as evidence that subsidies will be needed to fund the trains’ operations.

The rail authority’s latest biennial project update report released in 2023 reduced ridership projections—citing declining ridership numbers in California and across the nation due to work-from-home patterns—by 25 percent.

Approximately 2.3 million trips are expected annually on the high-speed rail segment of the state’s rail system by 2030—if the section is complete.

Newsom also released the state’s Rail Plan in a 62-page document on Jan. 7.

Officials are looking to increase the number of miles traveled in California for passenger rail and transit from 2 percent of all miles traveled statewide to at least 20 percent by 2050—all on zero-emission trains.

If the goal is achieved, approximately 200 million daily passenger miles would take place on rail systems instead of highways.

“California is building a clean transportation system for the future,” Newsom said in a statement. “Our vision is simple: by 2050, every Californian should be able to choose rail as a way to get to their destination, near or far.”