After 16 years and $16 billion, Governor Gavin Newsom proudly revealed on Tuesday that California has finally finished its first railhead on the perpetually delayed high-speed rail project.
"I'm here in the Central Valley in Wasco, right near Shafter, and we just made an announcement of our progress here on the high-speed rail system," Newsom announced in a video posted to X. "We're now in the process of starting to lay track 119 mile first phase fully funded because of the investments we'll make through the cap and invest program through 2045. 1,700 people every single day, union jobs go to work on this project. Fifty-eight large-scale structures have been complete. Twenty-nine others underway. Ninety-nine percent of the environmental work done. All of the hard work behind us now we're going to see the fruits of that. We're going to start seeing precisely what you see here."
"Real tracks, real progress," he added.
Gavin Newsom says he’s getting started on California’s high-speed rail — the same project he said he was starting back in 2010..
— American AF 🇺🇸 (@iAnonPatriot) February 5, 2026
More fraud incoming. pic.twitter.com/shSxAsl3Cf
High-speed rail means no TSA lines, no removing your shoes — just fast, clean travel.
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) February 4, 2026
While Texas canceled its project, California keeps building. 463 miles are now ready for construction.
We’re past the hardest part, and we’re finishing the job. pic.twitter.com/8fS8vhZdjd
The state's massive infrastructure project is far from an achievement the governor should be lauding. Sixteen years after voters approved a $10 billion bond in 2008, the state has blown $15 billion-plus for a few miles of half-built track in the Central Valley, and still no trains. Any travel from San Francisco to LA, a major selling point for the project, remains decades away, with costs now soaring past $100 billion.
"Gavin Newsom had to post a video to prove his high-speed rail is actually being built… 16 YEARS and 16 BILLION dollars later @CAGovernor is bragging about the first track going down," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on X. "I would be laughing at him if this boondoggle wasn’t projected to cost $135 billion when all is said and done. What a disaster."
.@jessebwatters nails it! 👏
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 6, 2026
Gavin Newsom had to post a video to prove his high-speed rail is actually being built… 16 YEARS and 16 BILLION dollars later @CAGovernor is bragging about the first track going down
I would be laughing at him if this boondoggle wasn’t projected to… pic.twitter.com/uykft3H8LT
Newsom's supposed "real progress" was quickly pushed into the background, as several hours later, a fire broke out at a construction site in Fresno, which investigators said was caused by routine construction. The media was happy to report that no tracks were damaged, although that should come as no surprise, since there are barely any tracks to begin with.
Hours after Gavin Newsom celebrated a major made up milestone for California’s criminally over budget and delayed high speed rail, it caught on fire…
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 6, 2026
Fortunately, no tracks were destroyed in the blaze, but that’s only because none have been laid in 16 years. https://t.co/8saGsfmzns pic.twitter.com/X2HqxMg7Bf
A Republican Representative from California, Kevin Kiley, went on to blast the milestone, expressing gratitude that federal funds will no longer be supporting the project, no doubt fraught with waste, fraud, and abuse.
"Mr. Speaker, I wanted to provide a brief update on California high-speed rail, which thankfully in an overwhelming bipartisan vote, this House just voted to cut funding off for, and the President just signed that legislation into law," Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) said on Thursday. "We are also now raising questions about what has happened to the $17 billion that has already been spent, and whether perhaps there might be fraud at issue, or at least waste or a lack of diligence in the use of taxpayer funds."
Kiley then tore into Governor Newsom for celebrating a so-called achievement that, after 16 years, was nothing more than finally getting around to finishing a railhead. A not-so-impressive 'milestone' for a high-speed rail project.
The Governor for his part, by the way, yesterday held a big ceremony with much hoopla about a supposed milestone for high-speed rail, which is to say the completion of a single railhead in Kern County. Now, I'll remind the Governor that this is the year 2026. The high-speed rail project was supposed to be complete, having a full-fledged high-speed rail system from Los Angeles to San Francisco six years ago in 2020, and yet we're supposed to get excited about the completion of a single railhead in 2026? Mr. Speaker, after 17 years and 17 billion dollars, there still has not been any track laid for this project.
Newsom just a held a celebration for a "major high-speed rail milestone." After 17 years and $17 billion, a single railhead is complete in Kern County. The entire LA to SF train was supposed to be finished by 2020.
— Rep. Kevin Kiley (@RepKiley) February 5, 2026
He's also pushing a bill to keep records of the project secret. pic.twitter.com/W5UQOs66bf
