SNCF, the French national railroad, was one of the original operators to come to California in the early 2000s to help develop the state’s “bullet train” that would run from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The rail company, however, opted to leave for the war-torn, yet “less politically dysfunctional,” North African country.“There were so many things that went wrong,” SNCF Project Manager Dan McNamara told the New York Times. “SNCF was very angry.
California voters first approved a bond issue for the $33 billion high-speed rail project in 2008 with a goal of completion by 2020 to provide an alternative to the state’s numerously clogged freeways. The project is still underway as expenses continue to increase, with the California High-Speed Rail Authority reportedly estimating costs to be as high as $113 billion.
The state’s Democratic leaders, who have led support for the project, have expressed doubts regarding its success despite previous investments from the Obama and Biden administrations.“There is nothing but problems on the project,” State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon recently said. Gov. Gavin Newsom has reportedly hesitated to commit to additional state financing. As of now, there is no identified source of funding for the project.