Gov. Gavin Newsom was mocked for posing in front of a freight train to tout progress on the troubled High Speed Rail project — still years from carrying passengers despite a staggering price tag of roughly $215 million per mile for a Central Valley route.
“He stands in front of a freight train saying ‘it’s coming’ — no, sir, it’s not,” said Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, who represents parts of the Central Valley. “Your privilege train is a money pit and a boondoggle.”
Newsom visited Kern County Tuesday to “celebrate” the completion of a railhead facility — a “critical step in the track-laying stage,” the governor said in a statement.
Roughly $15 billion has been spent to date on the High Speed Rail project, resulting so far in a collection of viaducts, overpasses and other “structures” scattered across the Central Valley, pictures obtained by The Post show.
“We’re now in the process of starting to lay track,” Newsom bragged in a video posted to social media as he gestured towards a freight train in Wasco.
“We’re going to see precisely what you see here: real track, real progress.”
Social media critics were quick to mock the use of an unrelated train as a prop for the video.
“Hilarious for Gavin to be pointing to and using a regular train as a prop in his high speed rail – because the high speed rail boondoggle has no trains and no tracks,” noted Republican pundit Matt Whitlock.
“After 10 years and a $135 billion price tag of wasteful spending for taxpayers, [Newsom] is standing in front of a freight train that’s not moving and touting his high-speed rail scam as a success,” wrote Sen. Rick Scott of Florida.
The fast rail project was first approved by voters in 2008 and billed as a train connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco as a cost of about $30 billion to $35 billion. It has since been plagued by delays and cost overruns, with more recent estimates pegging the total cost at $135 billion.
The first segment, connecting Merced and Bakersfield, will cost roughly $36 billion and open for passengers in 2032, according to state authorities. Newsom and the Legislature last year committed $1 billion annually through 2045 to the fast rail project through the state’s cap-and-invest program.
Macedo said her rural constituents were outraged about the billions spent as basic needs like safe roads and clean water are ignored.
”What have we gotten for those $15 billion? Lots of fancy videos and graphics meant to convince you this is still a viable project,” she said.
