Time for Newsom to show leadership: End the high-speed rail disaster
The California high-speed rail project is facing severe cost overruns, with estimates now reaching $231 billion—seven times the original projection—and is more than a decade behind schedule. Governor Gavin Newsom previously criticized the project as too costly and time-consuming but has continued to support it despite abandoning the original plan to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. Critics argue that the funds could be better spent on alternative transportation solutions or other public priorities.
- ▪The high-speed rail project's cost is now projected at $231 billion, seven times the initial estimate.
- ▪The project is over a decade behind schedule and will not connect Los Angeles and San Francisco as originally planned.
- ▪Elon Musk claimed his Boring Company could build a Hyperloop between SF and LA for less than 5% of the rail project's cost.
- ▪Critics note that the $231 billion could fund up to 400 years of subsidized flights between LA and San Francisco.
- ▪The recent Artemis II moon mission cost $4 billion, meaning California's rail spending could fund over 50 round trips to the moon.
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Opinion Time for Newsom to show leadership: End the high-speed rail disaster By CA Post Editorial Board Published April 29, 2026, 8:51 p.m. ET It is well past time to pull the plug on California’s high-speed rail project. A US Senate Transportation Committee revealed that the cost is now projected to be $231 billion — seven times the original estimate. The project is already more than a decade behind schedule, and Gavin Newsom has already said it would not connect LA and San Francisco, as envisioned. Enough already. It is well past time to pull the plug on California’s high-speed rail project. Getty Images If California wants “green” alternatives to existing road, air, and rail, there are other, more workable ideas.
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