CBS News’ “60 Minutes” recently explored the troubled high-speed rail project in California, a venture that has yet to deliver any tangible results since voters approved it in 2008. The segment featured discussions with several key figures, including Congressman Vince Fung, Lou Thompson—an Amtrak co-founder and former member of the California High Speed Rail Peer Review Group—and California High Speed Rail Authority Director Anthony Williams.
“We’re in 2026. There are no trains. There are no tracks. It was a complete bait-and-switch,” Fung noted during his interview.
After California residents voted to allocate nearly $10 billion in local bond funds for the ambitious 800-mile rail system connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, the initial estimated cost of about $33 billion has ballooned to over $125 billion—nearly quadrupling the original figure. The project, which started under the administration of former Governor Jerry Brown, has been marred by rising costs and significant delays.
The California High Speed Rail Authority has indicated that it anticipates train operations to commence in 2030, a full decade later than the original target. Current plans are focused on laying tracks between Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and Merced, marking only a third of the way toward the intended San Francisco connection.
Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin acknowledged that errors were made throughout the process. “There were mistakes made. Some of the criticism of this project is very fair. I don’t think the voters fully grasped what it would take to make this project happen,” he admitted.
Furthermore, Williams pointed out that, at the start of construction, there simply wasn’t enough funding to complete the line. He expressed hindsight about the clarity of that communication. “We had a lot to learn, a lot to grow,” he said.
When asked if he believed the high-speed rail system would be completed in his lifetime, Thompson expressed skepticism. “Honestly, I’m skeptical. Unless there’s national political will to collaborate with states on these initiatives, I think it’s unlikely to happen in my lifetime. But maybe yours; I really can’t say.”
The project faced an additional hurdle when Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced that $4 billion in unspent federal funds would cease by July 2025, as the long-standing endeavor continues to be described as a “train to nowhere,” marred by management issues and budget overruns.
