The inspector general for California‘s high-speed rail project has an update: The project is going broke (again), is being delayed (again), and is not being transparent with the public (again).Benjamin Belnap’s report highlighted several missing details in the project’s 2026 business plan and concluded that the project would again run out of money as early as December 2027. This after having spent $18 billion, with another $18 billion (at least) needed to finish the first segment of the line and another $90 billion to $195 billion after that to complete the promised San Francisco-to-Los Angeles line.
On top of that, Belnap’s report noted that the project’s business plan does not acknowledge that the current segment’s completion date can be pushed back to 2034 after its most recent estimate of a 2032-33 completion, which will end up adding to the costs (again). According to Belnap, the High-Speed Rail Authority “has obscured basic facts about the project, hindering lawmakers’ ability to provide effective oversight of the project and, in so doing, creating obstacles to achieving changes it seeks that require stakeholder agreement and legislative action.”The Hanford Viaduct construction site is shown in an aerial view Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Kings County, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
