Transportation Secretary investigates California high-speed rail; protestors oppose halting the project

On Thursday morning, a group of public transportation activists’ view was blocked inside Union Station with a black curtain as U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy announced an investigation on the California High-Speed Rail project. 

Duffy said the original plan was to build a fast commute between Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion. However, as of today, the Merced to Bakersfield segment is estimated to cost more than the original total, with completion between 2030 and 2033. The entire rail project will be about $106 billion and is expected to be completed by 2050.

Duffy said he directed the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to initiate a review of the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), which is in charge of the speed-rail. 

“It's been 17 years and $16 billion, and no rail has been built,” said Duffy during the press conference as chants of “Speed rail jobs are union jobs” and “Build the train” were in the background. “So if you want to go protest somewhere, if you want to shout at someone, go to the governor's mansion, go talk to Democrats in the Legislature who brought us this crappy project.”

Congressman Kevin Kiley (R), who represents the 3rd District, said the project is the worst public infrastructure failure in U.S. history and an embarrassment to the State of California. 

“It symbolizes the decline of modern California under the current leadership. It showcases political ineptitude on an epic scale,” he said. “It’s why I have introduced legislation to cut all federal funding for high-speed rail going forward.”

The FRA review will determine whether roughly $4 billion in taxpayer money should remain committed to the proposed project to build the high-speed rail in the California Central Valley between Merced and Bakersfield.

Duffy said the federal government has the right to know where the money went. He pointed at the images of two incomplete bridges “to nowhere” while adding that Californians have the right to know what happened. 

The Office of Transportation said the slow progress by CHSRA contrasts with “the impressive work of Brightline West,” another agency in charge of building a high-speed rail system from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. This one is expected to begin service in 2028.

Public transportation helps climate change

Max Rico, from South Los Angeles, was one of the protestors behind the black curtain. He said that, as an environmental science teacher, he knows that climate change is happening and that humans are causing it mainly by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. 

“Here in the state of California, transportation is our number one source of carbon dioxide,” he said. “A project like this aims to reduce that, to reduce vehicle miles traveled, to reduce the flights from Los Angeles and the Bay area.”

Rico said he hopes that once this project is in operation, it may help reverse climate change.  

Paulina Bryant said t high-speed rail is important for a green future. It can help create union jobs and an economy of abundance.

“We need to create these kinds of jobs and build a green future so that climate change doesn’t destroy everyone’s lives like it did recently with a lot of people losing their homes in Altadena and the Palisades,” she said.

Bryant agreed that it is frustrating to see the amount of money spent to advance so little, but she said Democrats just have to work harder to cut the red tape and the amount of regulations to build the rail as soon as possible. 

Eli Lipmen, executive director of Move LA, an organization that advocates for public transportation and climate change, said despite the announcement from Secretary Duffy, California overwhelmingly supports the creation of the high-speed rail, which will create good and fast transportation from L.A. to San Francisco.

“So we are here today to say no to kings and yes to high-speed rail. More to rail and bus and all kinds of public transportation,” he said. 

Lipmen mentioned “king” as a reference to a post by President Donal Trump on Wednesday where he wrote, “Manhattan, and all of New York is SAVED” from a congestion pricing program and continued saying, “LONG LIVE THE KING!” with a photoshopped photo of him wearing a crown.  

Some protestors questioned whether the reason behind the halting of the project was that Trump wanted Californians to drive more cars and benefit Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla. Once Trump became president, he appointed Musk as a special government employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).