Fourteen years later, construction is now underway on part of a 171-mile “starter” route linking several cities in mid-California, which has been promised for 2030. But few expected it to. achieve that goal.
Meanwhile, costs continue to escalate. When the California High-Speed Rail Authority issued its new draft 2022 business plan in February, it estimated the final costs to top $105 billion. Less than three months later, the “final plan” raised the estimate to $113 billion.
The rail regulator says it has accelerated construction of the starter system, but with current spending at $1.8 million a day, as predicted by engineers and project managers. Widely used, the train cannot be completed in this century.
“We’re going to be making some other decisions today,” said Tom Richards, a developer from the city of Fresno in the Central Valley who is currently the government chairman. He said project operators have worked to overcome the challenges and have a plan to connect 85% of California’s residents to a fast, efficient rail system for the first time. “I think it will work,” he said.
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But there is growing suspicion between key Democratic leaders in the Legislature – formerly the bullet train’s support base – and from Governor Gavin Newsom, who has always been cautious about committing new state funding. To date, there is no definite funding source for the $100 billion that will be needed to stretch the railroad project from the Central Valley to its original targets, Los Angeles and San Francisco, in part because developers legislators, no longer convinced of the bullet train. viability, has prompted a redirection of additional funding to rail projects in the region.
“Nothing but problems in the project,” State Assembly speaker Anthony Rendon complained recently.
However, a review by The Times shows that political arrangements created serious obstacles to the project from the start. Speaking candidly on the subject for the first time, some former heads of the high-speed rail regulator said the project may never be operational.
