Trump slams California’s high-speed rail project citing delays, cost overruns and mismanagement

California Construction News staff writer

President Donald Trump is threatening to pull the plug on California’s high-speed rail project for delays, cost overruns and mismanagement. Speaking to reporters last week, Trump said the project between Los Angeles and San Francisco is “the worst-managed project I think I’ve ever seen.”

Trump’s followed the release of a report on the first phase of what was expected to be a statewide system.

According to the project’s inspector general, Benjamin Belnap, it’s “unlikely that the High-Speed Rail Authority can meet its current goal of beginning passenger service between Merced and Bakersfield by 2033.

Gov. Gavin Newsom was critical of the project when he took office, saying, “let’s be real. The current project, as planned, would cost too much and respectfully take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency.”

The most recent cost estimates for Merced-Bakersfield top $35 billion, more than the 2008 projection for a complete system. However, there is about $28.7 billion available in state bonds, federal grants and a quarter of the state’s proceeds from auctioning permits for emissions of greenhouse gases, as much as $1 billion a year.

The current estimate for linking San Francisco with Southern California is $107 billion.

The High-Speed Rail Authority has acknowledged the findings and agreed with the Inspector General’s recommendations and outlinedseveral new measures, including:

• Re-examining project designs to cut costs and reduce timelines.
• Revamping its management structure.
• Revising procurement strategies.
• Collaborating with state lawmakers to resolve third-party conflicts.

Civil construction for the first 119 miles of the M-B segment began in 2013 but has faced delays. Extensions to Bakersfield and Merced are now expected to continue through 2028, with track and systems construction scheduled for completion by 2029.