USA After 18 years, California is still struggling with the dream of high-speed rail, when the project has cost tens of billions of dollars but has not yet laid any rails.
In 2008, California voters voted on a high-speed train project connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, with a commitment that this journey would help shorten travel time between the two cities from nearly 7 hours driving to less than 3 hours. Passed with 52.7% of votes in favor and 47.3% of votes against, this was considered the largest infrastructure project in the United States at that time.
The project is set to be completed in 2020, with an estimated initial cost of $33 billion, to help California own America's first high-speed rail line.
Since 2008, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has disbursed about $15 billion to reclaim thousands of parcels of land, build overpasses, build roadbeds and massive concrete retaining walls in the Central Valley. This giant construction site has created thousands of jobs for Californians.
However, after nearly 20 years, the project is still unfinished and not a single meter of track has been laid. After years of litigation, capital increases, leadership changes and political controversy, the total estimated cost of the project has now increased to $126 billion and could even reach $231 billion. The date the railway will come into operation has also been delayed until 2040.
"This is a disaster," Democratic senator Catherine Blakespear said at a meeting of the Transportation Committee in April. "I support railway development and really want this project to succeed. But looking at reality, I feel like we are proceeding with the project with only fragile faith and hope."
Currently, CHSRA is focusing on completing the first section through the Central Valley, then connecting the line to San Francisco and Los Angeles. However, the agency's July report pointed out that the project is at risk of "exhausting available capital" within the next year.
The project is also causing serious division in the region. "I support high-speed trains, but this is a very controversial issue," said Constance Peters, who grew up in the Central Valley.
Construction has not yet reached the southern end of the first section of the line, where the project is facing fierce opposition. The line runs through Shafter, a city of about 24,000 people. Notably, Shafter is the only municipality that has a railway running through it but does not have any station.
"The tracks will split our city in half," said Gail Alvidrez, a longtime retiree who lives in Shafter.
The high-speed rail project would replace the current Amtrak and freight rail line at Shafter with a wider elevated track, surrounded by walls about 11 meters high.
Local people worry that the project will affect business activities, because some stores may have to give up their premises to build the railway line.
"They will have to demolish their stores. Our small city doesn't have many places like that," Alvidrez said while having dinner with her husband at El Michoacano restaurant.
People also believe that the current railway construction process and future high-speed trains will disrupt the peace of Shafter. At a city council meeting last fall, railway officials presented a plan to speed up construction, but received fierce opposition from residents.
Mayor Chad Givens said that among the cities affected by the high-speed rail project, none will be hit as hard as Shafter. "We don't get any benefits," he said.
The City Council has proposed to the California state government to adjust the railway route through this area. However, Mayor Givens said that coordination with CHSRA encountered many difficulties.
"About 4-6 months they replace new staff and we have to start working again from scratch," he said.
Ian Choudri, head of CHSRA, denied this assertion and said the agency would proactively work with the city government in the coming weeks.
Mr. Choudri was appointed in 2024, after the project went through 3 generations of leadership. California Governor Gavin Newsom praised Choudri as the "perfect captain" to lead the project.
The governor also pledged that "over the next few years, the dream of high-speed rail in California will become a reality, as we begin to lay tracks, design and build stations, and purchase trains."
Wishing to put the train into operation soon, Choudri said he shortened the 2.5-year schedule by purchasing the necessary materials in advance so that contractors and construction units only need to "come pick it up and start installing the tracks". He said this has helped speed up progress and the project is expected to install the first section of track by the end of this year.
The initial route connecting Bakersfield and Merced is estimated to cost $36 billion and is expected to open in 2033. Although this section of the route itself cannot be profitable immediately, officials still consider this a foundation to complete the project and expand the network in the future.
Last summer, President Donald Trump's administration withdrew $4 billion in federal funding for the railroad, saying the project did not meet commitments under the funding agreement. To compensate, California passed a bill to appropriate $1 billion per year, lasting until 2045, from its emissions cap and investment program.
Mr. Choudri is also actively looking for private investors to maintain the project. An international consortium, which includes a pension fund manager from Canada's Quebec, is evaluating funding options.
Mr. Choudri admitted that CHSRA has not yet completed site clearance work for the extension to Merced and Bakersfield, and the station locations have not yet been finalized.
"I do not believe this project will be completed as promised to California voters," said Republican senator Tony Strickland.
However, a survey conducted by Politico in partnership with the Citrin Center and Possibility Lab last year showed that nearly two-thirds of Californians still want the project to continue, even though more than half of them are skeptical about the project's ability to be completed on schedule.
"Californians have money and we need to travel," said Constance Peters.
"If it only takes 2 hours to get to San Francisco, I'm willing to take the train there," said Jeinner Aviles, manager of El Michoacano restaurant. "But I don't know if I'll be able to see it put into operation while I'm alive?".
