As a former California secretary of business, transportation and housing, congresswoman and governor’s chief of staff, I understand that transformative infrastructure projects demand vision, courage and — above all — commitment.
That’s why I introduced the concept of high-speed rail to Gov. Jerry Brown in 1981 and authored the first national High-Speed Rail Planning Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1994.
Today, I continue to serve on the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors because I believe in this project’s power to reshape how our state — and nation — moves.
I’ve stuck with this project for more than four decades because I know it’s worth the fight. But like any bold idea, high-speed rail has not been without critics — or setbacks.
Some of the criticism is legitimate. The United States should be a global leader in high-speed rail, but we’ve yet to complete even one system. Other nations have raced ahead while we’ve debated.
Yet, in a democracy like ours, progress must account for due process, environmental protections, property rights and public input. These checks create delays, yes — but they also create better, more equitable outcomes.
California’s project has faced its share of obstacles: litigation, complex environmental reviews and inconsistent funding. Land acquisition — especially from multigenerational farms — has required time and sensitivity. Still, construction continues, and California has remained committed.
We’ve made mistakes. The original $9.9 billion bond from 2008 was far too small for a project of this scope. By comparison, in 1981 the 17-mile Century Freeway was estimated at $1.7 billion — $100 million per mile. We were always going to need more.
But the progress is real, and it’s accelerating:
119 miles of high-speed rail are under active construction in the Central Valley. Over 52 major structures have already been completed. More than 15,300 union jobs have been created. Stations are in advanced design in Merced, Fresno, Kings/Tulare and Bakersfield. And now, 463 miles of the 494-mile Phase 1 system have been environmentally cleared — from San Francisco to Los Angeles.Yet just this week, we saw another effort to derail that progress. President Trump, through Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, released a 300-page report falsely claiming mismanagement and calling for the federal government to take back up to $4 billion in previously awarded grants.
This isn’t about facts. It’s political theater. We’ve been here before. In 2019, the Trump administration tried the same move and lost in court. We expect to prevail again.
These political stunts confuse the public and jeopardize confidence. But California is staying focused. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed dedicating $1 billion per year from the Cap-and-Invest (formerly Cap-and-Trade) program through 2045. That long-term commitment could unlock private investment and ensure completion of the first operational segment between Merced and Bakersfield.
While I was disappointed that the authority didn’t begin with the Los Angeles–San Diego route — the vision I helped shape — I stayed in the fight. The decision to start in the Central Valley was strategic, not a detour. It prioritized regions historically overlooked in California’s infrastructure investments.
Merced, Madera, Fresno, Bakersfield. These are working-class communities with affordable housing, rich agricultural history and an untapped labor force. Connecting them to the rest of the state isn’t just a transit decision — it’s an equity decision.
And San Diego must be next.
Plans are already underway to link Los Angeles to San Diego via the Inland Empire. That route has been environmentally cleared. What it needs now is active regional leadership, political support and a unified voice pushing to bring federal and private funding to the table.
When the project’s earliest routes were selected, San Diego’s lack of political will hurt our chances. Let’s not repeat that mistake.
We must act now so future generations can ride a high-speed train from San Diego to Silicon Valley in under 4 hours — without traffic, airport delays or carbon emissions.
This isn’t just a train. It’s California’s next great legacy project. Like the Golden Gate Bridge. The State Water Project. The University of California system. None of those were easy. All of them were worth it.
High-speed rail means cleaner air, less congestion, more opportunity. It means building for the future — not just maintaining the past.
Let’s finish what we started.
Lynn Schenk is a member of the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board and served as a congresswoman for San Diego from 1993 to 1995.
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