What Will It Take to Complete California’s High Speed Rail?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

California’s long-delayed high speed rail project is finally ready to start laying tracks in the Central Valley next year. But the Trump administration has called it a “rail to nowhere,” pointing to construction delays and a budget that’s ballooned by $100 billion. The federal government has clawed back $4 million in grant funding – a move Governor Newsom says is illegal and that California plans to fight in court. With federal money tied up in the lawsuit, state lawmakers are pooling funds and pushing public-private partnerships to keep construction on track. We’ll get the latest on this slow-moving project from two transportation journalists. And we want to hear from you: What questions do you have about the future of California’s high speed rail? Guests: Colleen Shalby, staff writer covering transportation and mobility, The Los Angeles Times Ralph Vartabedian, independent journalist who has written about California's high-speed rail for over a decade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Kiki Weedy Podcasts comes from San Francisco Opera, a company sister Helen Prejean on a life-altering journey where her faith is put to the test.
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0:31.4	From KQED.
0:36.6	Music From KQBD in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
0:51.3	Coming up on forum, what's the status of California's high-speed rail project?
0:56.1	In the last month and a half, the Trump administration has pulled back $4 billion in federal funds,
1:01.5	and the House has launched an investigation of the rail authority.
1:05.1	Meantime, Governor Newsom has called for a billion-dollar-a-year investment in the project from the state's
1:10.3	cap-and-trade funds as rail officials seek private financing and prepare to lay trade called for a billion dollar a year investment in the project from the state's cap and trade
1:10.8	funds as rail officials seek private financing and prepare to lay track next year. But are
1:16.8	Californians running out of patience for the over budget behind-scheduled bullet train? You tell us
1:23.0	after this news.
1:37.1	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
1:38.6	State officials and the high-speed rail authority say construction on California's
1:42.7	bullet train is progressing, with some
1:44.9	70 miles of trackbed built in the Central Valley, along with bridges and overpasses, and track
1:50.4	length set to begin next year. But the Trump administration has called it a boondoggle and
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