We’ve written about it many times before: California Governor Gavin Newsom’s multi-billion-dollar high-speed train to nowhere, an epic fail of a project that is a symbol of progressive policies run amok. While the state suffers from some of the highest taxes in the nation, the largest homeless population, constant budget crises, and residents and businesses sprinting for the exits, Newsom et al continue to crow that we’re the guiding light for the country and that this ghost train is a testament to their virtues.
Yet, as 60 Minutes reported Sunday, it’s a disaster on an almost biblical scale, and there’s almost nothing to show for the years and billions of dollars poured into it:
60 Minutes on Sunday profiled the “Ghost train” in California — the high-speed rail project that was approved by voters in 2008 and supposed to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. Instead, the project has turned into an estimated $125 billion stain on the state, with Californians still waiting for the first tracks to be laid down, years after the train was expected to starting running.
Correspondent Jon Wertheim wanted to get an answer on why the train is so far behind schedule — and over budget.
He pointed to a few reasons, including “California’s exacting environmental regulations, which triggered all manner of reviews, lawsuits, and delays.”
Environmental regulations are just the start of it. Where did all the money go?
This @60Minutes piece on California's high speed rail disaster is incredible. From the comparison to costs in other countries to the questions about where the money went (consultants, lawyers, vendors), and how much supporters like Gavin Newsom have moved the goalposts. ⏰ https://t.co/hdz5gOjveH
— Corey Uhden (@CACoreyU) April 5, 2026
MORE: Gavin Newsom Mocked Into Next Week As He Holds Ceremony Honoring Invisible High-Speed Train
Trump Pulls the Plug on Gavin Newsom's High-Speed Rail Boondoggle
The whole project is just one massive bait and switch:
“As anyone whose renovated a home knows, delay adds to price,” [correspondent Jon] Wertheim quipped.
He said the high cost of U.S. labor and construction relative to other countries hasn’t helped, either.
Another problem: terrible planning. Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA) told CBS the 2008 plan that was approved by voters was “very theoretical,” but that it has become “very clear they didn’t have the specifics worked out.”
“We’re now in 2026. There are no trains, there’s no track laid,” Fong added. “It’s a complete bait and switch.”
The project was approved with $9.95 billion initially earmarked for it, with the final cost expected to be around $33 billion. But nearly two-decades of delays have sent that price tag soaring.
BREAKING: California doesn't have enough money to finish building a high speed rail system to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles and now they want $125 BILLION MORE!
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) April 5, 2026
"The entire amount of money we need is not there..."
And now they want more money than Amtrak has EVER… pic.twitter.com/CBe2heU0MK
"The entire amount of money we need is not there..."
And now they want more money than Amtrak has EVER received in their history.
CBS notes: "That’s more funding than Amtrak has received in its history, and still leaves a shortfall of roughly $90 billion."
INSANE.
In July of 2025, Trump pulled four billion dollars in federal funding from the boondoggle. “Thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again,” he wrote on Truth Social. “This was an ill-conceived and unnecessary project, and a total waste of Taxpayer money — But no more!”
The goals of the project have now been downsized: what was once a Los Angeles to San Francisco dream is now… a (potential) ride from the Central Valley between Bakersfield and Merced, as if anyone wanted that. You’ve got to be kidding me.
They’re hoping to finally lay down some track sometime in 2026 — six years after it was supposed to be finished. This is progressive, one-state party rule run amok, and is exactly what Democrats would bring to the nation should they regain the White House in 2028.
If you're a Democrat and even CBS News and 60 Minutes are coming after you, you know it's bad.
Editor’s Note: Gavin Newsom wants to turn America into one big version of California - a failed, overtaxed, dystopian nightmare.
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