Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that the U. S. government had given California 30 days to show cause why federal support for its high-speed rail project shouldn't cease.
In a press release with the subhead "It’s time for this boondoggle to die," Duffy laid out the facts.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced the Federal Railroad Administration terminated approximately $4 billion in unspent federal funding for California’s High Speed Rail Boondoggle. After 16 years and roughly $15 billion spent, not one high speed track has been laid by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). The $135 billion projected total cost of the project could buy every San Francisco and LA resident nearly 200 roundtrip flights between the cities.
“This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check – they come with a promise to deliver results. After over a decade of failures, CHSRA’s mismanagement and incompetence has proven it cannot build its train to nowhere on time or on budget,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “It’s time for this boondoggle to die. President Trump and I will always fight to ensure your tax dollars only go to projects that accomplish great, big, beautiful things.”
President Trump used Truth Social to give his analysis.
To the Law abiding, Tax paying, Hardworking Citizens of the United States of America, I am thrilled to announce that I have officially freed you from funding California’s disastrously overpriced, “HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO NOWHERE.” This boondoggle, led by the incompetent Governor of California, Gavin Newscum, has cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we have received NOTHING in return except Cost Overruns. The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will. This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED. Thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again. This was an ill-conceived and unnecessary project, and a total waste of Taxpayer money — But no more!
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California's high-speed rail project officially began in 2008, although it was initiated on paper earlier. The whole system was initially planned to comprise 776 miles, with a completion date set for 2020. To date, none of the proposed rail network is operational. By way of comparison, the Transcontinental Railroad is 1,911 miles long, cutting through the Rockies and Sierra Nevada, and it was completed in 2,314 days, despite the Civil War and Indian raids. An Irish track-laying crew laid 10 miles, 1,320 feet of track on a single day, while California has managed to lay 1,600 feet in nine years.
California is crying foul:
But Newsom’s office defended the project, saying the CHSRA had prepared for laying tracks — the final stage — of construction, by taking care of land acquisition, environmental clearances and building supporting structures such as bridges, overpasses and viaducts.
“These are legally binding agreements,” said CHSRA CEO Ian Choudri, who was appointed in August and has promised to tackle delays and budget issues. “This is no time for Washington to walk away on America’s transportation future,” he added.
Given the corrupt nature of many judicial proceedings against the Trump administration, the final decision will likely end up before the Supreme Court.
Make no mistake about it, this entire project is a boondoggle. The ballyhooed three-hour trip from LA to San Francisco only works if there are no stops. Once you add stops, the time starts to increase. There is no universe in which this rail line would not require large-scale government subsidies because the daily passenger demand just isn't there. At best, this is a sinecure for politically connected construction and consulting firms. At worst, it is outright theft. If California's voters are willing to foot the bill, they should be allowed to do so. The rest of us should be allowed to opt out, and thanks to Secretary Duffy, we have.
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