In 2008, California voters approved a $33 billion high-speed rail project that would connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. It's now 2026 and to put things in perspective, this writer — who had a one-year-old son in 2008 — now has a 19-year-old son in college, gave birth to two more children, both of whom are teenagers now.
And the project just started laying down track a few weeks ago.
Not only is it moving at a snail's pace, but the $33 billion price tag approved by voters almost two decades ago has also ballooned, almost quadrupling. That's obviously far above the rate of inflation and defies all logic.
In a 60 Minutes report, officials said they now believe the rail line linking L.A. and San Francisco could ultimately cost about $126 billion, more than triple the original price tag approved by voters. https://t.co/1QoEZ8aNgg pic.twitter.com/LoD3MB8boD
— KTLA (@KTLA) April 7, 2026
In a 60 Minutes report on CBS News, officials said they now believe the rail line linking Los Angeles and San Francisco could ultimately cost about $126 billion, roughly triple the original price tag approved by voters in 2008, when the California High-Speed Rail Authority estimated it would cost $45 billion.
Politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have stated that voters initially approved $33 billion for the project.
State officials say the earliest projected opening for the first phase, running from Kern County to Merced, has slipped to 2033, as funding gaps, construction delays and ongoing political battles continue to threaten the project’s future.
Last year, the Trump administration pulled $4 million in federal funding from the rail effort. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy dismissed the project as “a ridiculous train to nowhere.
Simply incredible.
more money for Gavin Newsom to steal?
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) April 8, 2026
That money is going somewhere.
"Start digging a hole and make it so big, there’s no alternative to coming up with the money to fill it in.”⁰
— Soquel by the Creek (@SoquelCreek) April 7, 2026
~ Willie Brown: CA’s longest-serving Assembly Speaker. Democrat. Former Mayor of San Francisco. Political patron who gave Gavin Newsom & Kamala Harris their start pic.twitter.com/a6Z240J5RN
It's the Democrat way!
I hope you retards remember this next time some of us are telling you it's stupid to give the government that much money.
— Sarcasm as a Service (@SaaS_Veritas) April 8, 2026
Just kidding. I know none of you morons will learn from this and will line up to vote yes on whatever crackbrained idea the democrats cook up next.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Japan built 19,000 miles of railway since California enacted their "high-speed rail to nowhere"; Japan are quite running circles around those CA Democrats by (*calculating*)
— TallJohnSilver (@TallJohnSilver) April 8, 2026
Phew, those Japanese are running circles 158 times faster than those crooked Democrats: magnitude 3
Japan is amazing, and built differently.
By the way, here's a list of what that $126 billion could pay for.
Fascinating. Here are some other things that cost $120B:
— Walter Curt (@wcdispatch) April 8, 2026
The entire interstate highway system for the USA, ~$115B.
The International Space Station, ~$125B.
The U.S. Navy Ford Class Aircraft Carrier Program, ~$120B (~$13B per ship).
But a train between two cities cost more? https://t.co/r2dRqVgXOr
Remember, Democrats will attack Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, demanding to steal billions from them to pay for healthcare, daycare, and food for the poor and then they waste $126 billion on a failed train.
We don't have a revenue problem. We have a fraud and spending problem.
Regular reminder that in addition to lying about the cost, they lied about ridership and ticketing
— skepticalifornia (@skepticaliblog) April 8, 2026
The theoretical construct known as “California High-Speed Rail” would also require taxpayer subsidies forever to cover operating costs
It would be a fiscal black hole for eternity https://t.co/s3y4FNdMUt
It's not a fiscal black hole for them. They and their buddies will get a cut of this.
And still not a single piece of track laid. 3 times over budget for nothing. Gavin Newsom’s California. https://t.co/lNOG3C8Hh4
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) April 8, 2026
There's a reason why "60 Minutes" ran this story, and it's to undermine Newsom's presidential ambitions.
Socialists shrug their shoulders at such costs.
— Robert Graham (@robertgraham) April 7, 2026
But capitalists do math.
They estimate once completed there will be 30 million rides per year between SF and LA.
But paying interest on a $126 billion loan is still more expensive than simply providing free airplane rides for… https://t.co/YZcLkK4yYX
Math has never been the strong suit of socialists. But they do always run out of other people's money.