Overview
- The $126 billion figure, highlighted in Sunday’s 60 Minutes segment, comes from a state draft business plan circulated last month that nearly triples the 2008 cost cited to voters.
- Project leaders say roughly $39 billion is available to build a 171-mile Merced–Bakersfield section, with a new $1 billion-per-year state funding stream and a $20 billion package intended to keep work moving after about $4 billion in federal grants were terminated early this year.
- Oversight veteran Lou Thompson warned in a March 27 letter that the effort has “reached a dead end,” saying the authority cannot finish the Merced–Bakersfield line by the end of 2032 with current funds.
- No trains are running yet, construction remains focused on the Central Valley corridor, and key tasks such as laying track and installing electrification still need to be completed even after extensive guideway work.
- Planners now discuss opening the initial Central Valley segment around 2033 and targeting San Francisco to Anaheim around 2040, which would still require tens of billions in new funding.