With federal money in doubt, California's high-speed train seeks a new path forward

"HANFORD, Calif. Hundreds of miles from Los Angeles and San Francisco, the first leg of California's high-speed rail line is rising above the almond trees and grape vines of the Central Valley. This summer, construction workers put the final concrete girder in place for the Hanford Viaduct, an elevated structure more than 6,300 feet long. It's part of a 119-mile stretch around Fresno and Bakersfield that's already under construction, and where crews could begin laying track as soon as next year."

"If you want to ride on a train traveling more than 180 miles per hour, you can find one in Europe. Also China, Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, even Morocco. One country where you cannot ride such a train is the United States. California is trying to change that. But the state's ambitious high-speed rail project faces an uncertain future as the Trump administration tries to cancel billions of dollars in federal funding."

"Choudri took the top job at California's high-speed rail authority last year after decades in the private sector, including high-speed rail projects in France and Spain. He readily acknowledges that the California project has made mistakes but he insists the authority has learned from them. "Bureaucracy and regulations created the nightmare," Choudri said in an interview at the authority's headquarters in Sacramento. "That caused this program to start on the wrong foot." Those missteps are well documented: rushing to begin construction before all the land was acquired, committing too early to the wrong routes, endless environmental reviews."

Construction of California's first high-speed rail leg is underway in the Central Valley, including the 6,300-foot Hanford Viaduct within a 119-mile Fresno–Bakersfield segment where track-laying could begin next year. The project aims to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles with trains exceeding 180 mph, addressing the U.S. lack of such service. The program is years behind schedule and billions over budget after early mistakes: rushed starts before full land acquisition, route errors, and lengthy environmental reviews. Leadership acknowledges errors and emphasizes lessons learned while federal funding faces threatened cuts, leaving the project's future uncertain.

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