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Zero. That’s the number of kilometers of high-speed rail in service in the United States in 2026. Zero—even though the country has the world’s largest rail network. While France has been operating the TGV for more than forty years, Japan launched the Shinkansen as early as 1964, and China has built the majority of the world’s high-speed rail network in just fifteen years, the United States remains dependent on airplanes and cars for long-distance travel.
However, a high-speed rail project was indeed launched in the United States in 2008, in the country’s wealthiest state: California. On paper, everything seemed to be in place for success: billions of dollars in investment, a strong commitment to climate action, and the promise of connecting California’s major cities at speeds exceeding 300 km/h. And yet, more than fifteen years after its launch, the California high-speed rail project has become one of the most controversial in the world. Repeated delays, skyrocketing costs, unfinished sections… All of this has led to a simple question: why is it so difficult to build high-speed rail systems in certain countries?
Since this article was published, the project has reached a new milestone.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has signed a co-development agreement with Momentum Alliance Partners, an international consortium comprising, among others, SNCF Passenger Services and Keolis.
Their mission is not to build or operate the line, but to contribute their expertise on future models for operation, maintenance, and financing in order to accelerate the network's upcoming expansions.
This announcement confirms that, despite the delays and controversies, California continues to actively prepare for the next phase of the project.
We’ll take you behind the scenes of this extraordinary construction project to understand what went wrong—and what this says, more broadly, about our ability to carry out major rail projects today. How did the world’s first railway powerhouse miss the high-speed train? An in-depth look.
What is the project? Connect San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2 hours and 40 minutes via a train traveling at 350 km/h. Approved by referendum in 2008 with an initial budget of $33 billion.
Why hasn't it been built yet? Three main reasons: soaring costs (the budget has more than tripled, reaching $113 billion in 2024), instability in federal funding (Trump cut $4 billion in 2025), and legal proceedings related to land expropriations.
What is the current status of the project? Work is progressing in the Central Valley. Construction on the first stations will begin in 2026, and track laying will start gradually. In July 2026, the California High-Speed Rail Authority also signed a co-development agreement with an international consortium that includes SNCF Voyageurs and Keolis to prepare for future network expansions and its future operating model. The opening of the first section is still expected around 2032.
What role did Elon Musk play in the project's difficulties? In 2013, he launched theHyperloop to encourage elected officials to abandon the California high-speed rail project, with no intention of building it himself. Since 2025, he has worked through the DOGE to cut $4 billion in federal funding.
With more than 220,000 kilometers of railways, the United States has the world's largest rail network. The railroad is a fundamental part of the region’s identity: it connected entire regions, gave rise to cities where there had been nothing before, and helped create a powerful narrative around the conquest of the West.
And yet, despite this deep-rooted history, the country does not have a single kilometer of high-speed rail today. Not a single one.
The structural reason is simple: of the 220,000 km of U.S. railroads, more than 95% are used for freight transport. Passenger rail—and high-speed rail even more so—has never been a national priority. Investment has historically focused on the automotive, aviation, and fossil fuel industries.
While France has been operating the TGV for more than forty years and China has built the majority of the world’s high-speed rail network in just fifteen years, the United States remains dependent on airplanes and cars for long-distance travel.
The San Francisco–Los Angeles corridor stretches 600 kilometers and connects two of the world’s most dynamic economic hubs. Today, this journey is made either by car on frequently congested highways or by plane, with all the associated airport hassles. In a state with nearly 40 million residents, this situation is becoming a major economic obstacle.
On November 4, 2008, Proposition 1A was approved by 52.7% of the vote: it enacts the construction of the first American high-speed train, with a target speed of 350 km/h and a scheduled to begin operations in 2020. In 2010, Barack Obama injected an additional $2.35 billion as part of a stimulus package. At that point, everything seemed to be falling into place.
Very quickly, the project ran up against a reality quite different from that of major European or Asian construction projects. The California High-Speed Rail Authority decided to begin construction in the Central Valley, between Merced and Bakersfield, a sparsely populated agricultural area, referred to as a train "from nowhere to nowhere". This decision, driven by technical considerations (simpler topography, fewer tunnels), immediately undermines confidence in the project.
From a legal standpoint, property rights in the United States are extremely well protected. Every land acquisition can lead to legal challenges, significantly slowing down construction. A researcher who has been studying the project since 2011 identifies four types of ongoing conflicts: political, territorial, procedural, and those related to uncertainties about the project’s impacts. These tensions feed into one another and make any progress difficult.
A direct consequence of this complex environment: costs are skyrocketing. Estimated at $33 billion in 2008, the budget doubled by 2012 to reach $68 billion, then rose to $77 billion in 2018, $100 billion in 2022, and $113 billion in 2024. In sixteen years, the cost has more than tripled, even though not a single section of the line is yet in service.
In 2013, Elon Musk unveiled the Hyperloop: capsules traveling at very high speeds through vacuum tubes, capable of connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles in about 30 minutes. The concept sparked worldwide enthusiasm and immediately emerged in the debate as an alternative to the California high-speed rail system.
Except that, according to Ashlee Vance's biography, as reported by Paris Marx in Time, the Hyperloop would have been designed in part to discredit the rail project, with no real intention of carrying it out. Elon Musk himself describes the California project as an example where "Incompetence becomes indistinguishable from fraud". The Hyperloop will never see the light of day: all the companies in the sector have since closed or abandoned their projects. But its impact is very real: it has diverted attention and fueled criticism for years.
The project has suffered from chronic instability directly linked to political shifts in Washington. During his first term, Donald Trump had already cut nearly $1 billion in funding in 2019, before California won its case in court. Joe Biden’s inauguration has made it possible to revive the project with a new budget of 3.1 billion as part of the infrastructure bill.
This respite is short-lived. In July 2025, the federal government, with Elon Musk at the helm of DOGE, cuts $4 billion in funding, describing the project as poorly designed and unnecessary. The daily cost of the project, estimated at $1.8 million, is regularly cited to fuel the criticism.
Faced with this instability, California is radically changing its strategy. Rather than relying on a federal partner deemed unreliable, the State of California relies on its own resources : Its carbon market is expected to generate about one billion dollars a year through 2045.
At the same time, the Railway Authority is reaching out to private investors (pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and major international infrastructure players) to support the next phases of the project.
This strategy came to fruition in July 2026 with the signing of a co-development agreement with Momentum Alliance Partners, a consortium comprising, among others, SNCF Voyageurs, Keolis, CDPQ Infra, Plenary Americas, SYSTRA, and several major engineering firms. During a phase that could last up to thirty months, this consortium will be tasked with studying future models for financing, operations, and maintenance, as well as future network expansions.
This announcement does not yet constitute an operating agreement, but it shows that California is already preparing for the next phase of the project.
Despite the challenges, the project continues to move forward. Construction on the first stations will begin in 2026, track laying will start that same year, and the opening of the first section is now scheduled for 2032 at best (with a full SF–LA line potentially completed between 2038 and 2039). Economic studies suggest significant potential benefits, with several billion dollars in economic activity generated each year once the line is in service.
The story of the California high-speed rail goes far beyond that of a mere infrastructure project. It highlights the difficulties faced by major Western democracies in carrying out long-term projects in unstable political contexts. California's high-speed rail system still doesn't exist. Yet, despite the delays, political battles, and criticism, the project continues to move forward.
The arrival of international players such as SNCF Voyageurs and Keolis This new phase of co-development (announced in July 2026) shows that California is no longer just looking to build a line: it is already preparing for its operation and future extensions.
More than fifteen years after its launch, the project remains one of the most controversial in the world. But it has probably never seemed so vibrant in a long time.
Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).
Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.
