United States politics
The recordFiled October 16, 2026Checked October 16, 2026
Is California laying high-speed rail track?
Newsom told lawmakers in January the state was "finally laying the tracks." In August, the project's own inspector general said high-speed rail track "has not been laid yet." It still hasn't.
See primary source: Office of the Governor of CaliforniaLeft
Lean left · Left-leaning US report
High-Speed Rail’s giant Central CA railhead yard built in one year. What will it do?
Erik Galicia · April 1, 2026
They declared it a turning point for the controversial project that’s yet to produce actual train tracks in the 17 years since California voters first approved it.
The Fresno Bee adds: “It has six freight lines inside it, as well as 10 miles of temporary storage tracks built in partnership with the BNSF Railway.”
Right
Lean right · Right-leaning US report
High-Speed Rail Authority discusses projected $126.2B cost
Madeline Shannon · April 29, 2026
The Center Square reported that as of June 2025, no track had been laid.
The Center Square adds: “In February, Gov. Gavin Newsom said California is moving ahead with high-speed rail thanks to the completion of the southern railhead facility in Kern County.”
We’re interested in your thoughts
Before you see our verdict, what’s your call on this claim?What’s your call on this claim? Our verdict is shown below.
FP verdict
The numbers are real. The conclusion isn't.
Confidence score: 3/10 — The project's inspector general (via CBS), the governor's own Feb. 3 release and Fresno Bee reporting all show no high-speed rail track had been laid; only the railhead's freight track supports the wording.
Sourced from Office of the Governor of California, the numbers are real and the conclusion isn't.
“Speaking of tracks, we're finally laying the tracks of the nation's first High-Speed Rail system, building the transportation network of the 21st century.”
No high-speed rail track had been laid when Newsom said it, and the rail authority hasn't reported any since. What existed was a staging yard with freight and storage track for delivering materials. The project's inspector general told CBS in August that high-speed rail track "has not been laid yet," and the rail authority's own schedule has the first real track work starting by Nov. 30. Newsom's own speech, a few lines later, said the guideway was "ready for immediate track-laying."
How the coverage differs
Based on the full articles
- Shared factsBoth report that the project had not yet laid high-speed rail track: the Bee says it is “yet to produce actual train tracks in the 17 years since California voters first approved it,” and The Center Square says “as of June 2025, no track had been laid.” Both tie Newsom to the finished Kern County railhead and note the $9.95 billion bond voters approved in 2008.
- Different emphasisThe Bee explains what the railhead is for, a staging yard with “six freight lines inside it, as well as 10 miles of temporary storage tracks built in partnership with the BNSF Railway,” and says track construction is scheduled for the second half of the year. The Center Square leads with the “ballooning $126.2 billion projected price tag for what many call a boondoggle,” board members deflecting blame, and officials who would not say whether track would be laid this year.
- Material differencesNo material factual difference. Only the Bee describes the freight and storage track at the yard and the planned start of track work; only The Center Square gives the $126.2 billion full-project estimate, the $15.7 billion spent to date and the 2040 opening date for the full line.
Shows its work
How this rating was reached
- Lie
- Doesn't hold up
- Misleading
- Mostly false
- Half true
- Mostly true
- True
- Unproven
Questions to ask
- When an official says "we're doing it," is that about the work happening today or the next contract on the calendar?
- If the first 22 miles of track really start by Nov. 30, will anyone check, and will the state call a freight yard a milestone again?
Shortened here. The full reasoning is below.
The evidence, briefly
Why misleading: real progress, wrong verb
The project had finished guideway, structures and a railhead yard, and track work was the next phase. But Newsom said the state was laying high-speed rail track, and it wasn't.
- PrimaryOffice of the Governor of California: Governor Newsom delivers final State of the State Address, honoring California’s past and reaffirming a brighter future for all
- Secondary reportingCBS News California: Newsom blamed Trump for high-speed rail's $4 billion funding cut. Records show California never bought the trains it promised.
- PrimaryCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority: California Approves Team to Build Nation’s First True High-Speed Rail Track and Systems
- Secondary reportingThe Fresno Bee: CA High-Speed Rail OKs $3.5B contract that puts laying first tracks on new timeline
Shortened here. The full reasoning is below.
01
The claim
In his final State of the State address on Jan. 8, Newsom said: "Speaking of tracks, we're finally laying the tracks of the nation's first High-Speed Rail system, building the transportation network of the 21st century." The governor's office posted the text the same day.
02
He said it again in February
On Feb. 3, at the opening of the project's Southern Railhead yard near Wasco, the governor's office put out a release headlined "Governor Newsom announces major high-speed rail milestone, track installation to begin." It quoted Newsom: "With the completion of the Southern Railhead Facility, we've taken another critical step in the track-laying stage." The same release said what the track at the yard was: "the Authority has completed installation of freight tracks at the 150-acre project site."
03
What the watchdog says
In an Aug. 2 CBS News California investigation, the High-Speed Rail Authority's inspector general, Ben Belnap, said: "There's been a railyard created that has track on it, but it is not high-speed rail track." He added: "High-speed rail track, as it's defined, has not been laid yet." CBS reported that a spokesperson for the authority said in June that the commitment is "to begin laying high-speed rail track by the end of the year."
04
The authority's own schedule
When the authority's board picked its track-building team on June 1, the agency said the railhead was ready for materials, "enabling rapid deployment once work begins later this year." The Fresno Bee reported from that meeting that the authority "expects work to begin on the first 22 miles that are ready for tracks" near Shafter "by Nov. 30."
05
Where it stands now
The authority's latest construction update, on Oct. 7, counts 66 finished structures and "Nearly 90 miles of guideway" in the Central Valley. It reports no high-speed rail track laid. CBS News California reported on Oct. 15 that "California still hasn't laid a mile of high-speed rail track."
06
The left-leaning framing
The Fresno Bee wrote that state leaders held up the railhead "as proof the project is on the cusp of becoming a real, visible system," and that Newsom "called it the arrival of 'the phase everybody's been waiting for.'" The same story says the project has "yet to produce actual train tracks" and describes what is at the yard: "six freight lines inside it, as well as 10 miles of temporary storage tracks built in partnership with the BNSF Railway." A week later, in its Reality Check series, the Bee noted "almost $15 billion in spending with no tracks" and wrote that if the authority was going to lay track in 2026, "it has about nine months to start."
07
The right-leaning framing
The Center Square, reporting on the rail authority's April 29 board meeting, described a "ballooning $126.2 billion projected price tag for what many call a boondoggle" and wrote that "as of June 2025, no track had been laid." It said board members weren't available to answer whether track would be laid this year, and, in its own summary rather than a quote, it wrote that in February Newsom said California was moving ahead with high-speed rail thanks to the finished railhead yard in Kern County. Newsom's own words that day, in his office's release, were "another critical step in the track-laying stage."
08
The buried fact
The speech gives itself away. Three sentences after "we're finally laying the tracks," the official text says: "More than 60 miles of guideway have been completed, ready for immediate track-laying in the Central Valley." Ready for track-laying means track-laying hadn't started. And the only track the state had put down was at a materials yard: freight lines and storage track tied into BNSF's network. Neither the Fresno Bee's railhead story nor The Center Square's April story quotes that line.
- PrimaryOffice of the Governor of California: Governor Newsom delivers final State of the State Address, honoring California’s past and reaffirming a brighter future for all
- PrimaryOffice of the Governor of California: Governor Newsom announces major high-speed rail milestone, track installation to begin
- Secondary reportingThe Fresno Bee: High-Speed Rail’s giant Central CA railhead yard built in one year. What will it do?
09
Why misleading: real progress, wrong verb
The project had finished guideway, structures and a railhead yard, and track work was the next phase. But Newsom said the state was laying high-speed rail track, and it wasn't. The project's own inspector general confirmed that in August, and the authority's schedule still puts the first real track work at Nov. 30.
- PrimaryOffice of the Governor of California: Governor Newsom delivers final State of the State Address, honoring California’s past and reaffirming a brighter future for all
- Secondary reportingCBS News California: Newsom blamed Trump for high-speed rail's $4 billion funding cut. Records show California never bought the trains it promised.
- PrimaryCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority: California Approves Team to Build Nation’s First True High-Speed Rail Track and Systems
- Secondary reportingThe Fresno Bee: CA High-Speed Rail OKs $3.5B contract that puts laying first tracks on new timeline
10
Why it isn't rated a Lie
A Lie rating needs evidence of intent. We found no example of Newsom repeating the claim after the inspector general's statement was published on Aug. 2. His office's July 16 transportation release still said "California is now entering the track-laying phase." Its Aug. 28 release kept the high-speed rail progress paragraph but dropped that line.
- Secondary reportingCBS News California: Newsom blamed Trump for high-speed rail's $4 billion funding cut. Records show California never bought the trains it promised.
- PrimaryOffice of the Governor of California: Governor Newsom announced nearly $2.5 billion to strengthen transportation infrastructure and advance public transit systems across the state
- PrimaryOffice of the Governor of California: Governor Newsom announces $2.7 billion for 150+ projects to expand and make California’s transportation system more resilient
11
What each side gets right, and hides
Newsom and the authority are right that the project moved from building bridges and guideway to getting ready for track, and that the yard is real. They hide that "laying the tracks" described a future step, not a current one. The Center Square is right that the cost has ballooned and that no high-speed rail track had been laid, but its April story backs the no-track point with a June 2025 report instead of checking the January speech, and it leaves out the finished guideway and structures that make track the next step.
- PrimaryOffice of the Governor of California: Governor Newsom announces major high-speed rail milestone, track installation to begin
- Secondary reportingThe Fresno Bee: High-Speed Rail’s giant Central CA railhead yard built in one year. What will it do?
- Secondary reportingThe Center Square: High-Speed Rail Authority discusses projected $126.2B cost
12
The question to ask
When an official says "we're doing it," is that about the work happening today or the next contract on the calendar?
Reporting only: no specific source link.
13
The question to ask next
If the first 22 miles of track really start by Nov. 30, will anyone check, and will the state call a freight yard a milestone again?
Reporting only: no specific source link.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| High-speed rail track laid when Newsom spoke (Jan. 8, 2026) | None | CBS News California |
| Track at the Southern Railhead yard | 6 freight lines, 10 miles of storage track | The Fresno Bee |
| Guideway finished, Oct. 7, 2026 | Nearly 90 miles | California High-Speed Rail Authority |
| Scheduled start of first high-speed track work | By Nov. 30, 2026 | The Fresno Bee |
Caveats and limits
Not verified
- Open question: Did Newsom repeat the track-laying claim in any speech, interview or post after Aug. 2? We found none in written records, but we didn't review every video appearance.
- Open question: Will the first high-speed rail track actually go down by Nov. 30? We'll update this story when the authority reports it.
Caveats
- This rates the January claim that track was being laid. It does not rate the project's cost, schedule or value.
- Other coverage: Streetsblog California, a transit advocacy site, reprinted the line on Jan. 9 without comment. CalMatters columnist Dan Walters, in a May 22 opinion column, quoted Newsom at the February event saying "we're now in the process of starting to lay track" and described the Central Valley segment as having "no track, no trains." Bias raters disagree on CalMatters' lean.
- A Lie rating needs evidence of intent and our editor's sign-off. Neither applies here.
Sources
Primary · official record
Primary · official record
Secondary reporting
Secondary reporting
California High-Speed Rail consultants commute from out of state on taxpayers' dime, receipts showCBS News California · Julie Watts, Tyler Horst · October 15, 2026
Primary · official record
Primary · official record
Primary · official record
Primary · official record
Secondary reporting
High-Speed Rail’s giant Central CA railhead yard built in one year. What will it do?The Fresno Bee · Erik Galicia · April 1, 2026
Secondary reporting
Will California High-Speed Rail lay tracks in 2026, as promised? See agency’s planThe Fresno Bee · Erik Galicia · April 9, 2026
Secondary reporting
CA High-Speed Rail OKs $3.5B contract that puts laying first tracks on new timelineThe Fresno Bee · Erik Galicia · June 1, 2026
Secondary reporting
High-Speed Rail Authority discusses projected $126.2B costThe Center Square · Madeline Shannon · April 29, 2026
Secondary reporting
Excerpts on Transportation and Livability from Governor Newsom's State of the StateStreetsblog California · Damien Newton · January 9, 2026
Secondary reporting
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