The following article, California’s High-Speed Rail: The Greatest Land Grab Scam in Modern History?, was first published on The Black Sphere.
In the grand saga of government waste, few projects rival the ongoing debacle of California’s high-speed rail system.
Initially pitched as a $33 billion marvel connecting Sacramento to San Diego, it has ballooned into an $89-128 billion taxpayer black hole with no completed track. While officials blame bureaucratic delays and environmental regulations, one question remains largely unexplored: Who really owns the land where this elusive rail is supposed to go, and how has it changed hands?
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has spent over $1.5 billion acquiring land, often through eminent domain, forcing private owners to surrender their property for the ‘greater good.’ However, much of the land has also been purchased under the cover of anonymous transactions, raising red flags about who is benefiting behind the scenes. Why would these landowners need secrecy? The government has no problem making eminent domain acquisitions public—so why the cloak-and-dagger approach to voluntary sales?
One particularly concerning aspect of this saga is the tangled web of elite political families and their financial interests. Did Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, acquire land along the rail route using federal grants? According to widespread speculation, some land was indeed purchased with taxpayer money, only to be resold at a profit. It has also been alleged that Dianne Feinstein’s late husband, Richard Blum, was another key player, buying and selling land along the planned rail line—again, using federal funds. While mainstream media outlets have rushed to label these claims as “conspiracy theories,” the facts surrounding these transactions remain suspiciously opaque. But business in California is rarely riddled with transparency and trust.
Adding to the intrigue is the role of Gavin Newsom, California’s governor and Nancy Pelosi’s nephew, who took the reins of this rail project and has continued funneling billions into it despite overwhelming evidence that it will never be completed as promised. Newsom initially scaled back the project, claiming it was too expensive and unfeasible in its original form, yet the money kept flowing.
If the train isn’t being built, where is the money going?
A conspiracy theory circulating among watchdogs and analysts suggests that the high-speed rail project was never truly about transportation but rather a massive money-laundering scheme disguised as infrastructure development. In this theory, connected insiders—including Pelosi, Feinstein, and Newsom—acquired land using federal grants, then resold it among themselves or to the CHSRA at enormous profits, all while the public was distracted by the supposed rail construction.
Furthermore, despite the astronomical spending on land acquisitions, the CHSRA still lacks 50 parcels in the San Joaquin Valley, creating yet another roadblock in an already disastrous timeline. Why is this process taking so long, and more importantly, where did all the money go?
Construction of Phase 1 began in the Central Valley in 2015. Due to limited funding, the project is being built in sections. The state prioritizes completion of the Initial Operating Segment (IOS) connecting Merced to Bakersfield. This Central Valley segment is 171 miles (275 km) long and thus spans 35% of the total San Francisco–Los Angeles route. The IOS is projected to commence revenue service as a self-contained high-speed rail system between 2030 and 2033, at a cost of $28–35 billion, and will replace current San Joaquin service south of Merced. The train when (if) built would boast a top speed of 220 mph and be one of the fastest trains in the Americas.
From January 2015 to December 2023, a total of $11.2 billion had been spent on the IOS – which has 119 miles (192 km) under active construction – and on upgrades to existing rail lines in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles, where Phase 1 is planned to share tracks with conventional passenger trains. Regulatory clearance has been obtained for the full route connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles, which includes the IOS. However, the Authority has not yet received sufficient funding to construct the segments from the IOS westwards to the Bay Area or southwards to Los Angeles, both of which would require tunneling through major mountain passes. As of 2024, the entirety of Phase 1 was projected to cost $106.2 billion.
Before regaining office, President Trump signaled that his administration would investigate California’s failed high-speed rail project. Trump already eyed the project as being widely mismanaged. “During his first term, he canceled a nearly $1 billion federal grant to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which he said failed to make meaningful construction progress. President Joe Biden ultimately reinstated that funding and continued to award more transportation grants to the Authority throughout his presidency.”
Of course, that’s what we expect from Democrat administrations- pallets of cash being tossed into oblivion. But given that Trump already exposed numerous cases of government corruption, it’s no surprise that California Democrats are panicking. And with Elon Musk’s Doge team known for its deep-dive investigations, there’s little doubt that any shady land deals will soon be disinfected with the light of truth.
The question now isn’t just about whether this train will ever run, but rather: Was the entire project designed to fail—so that the real profits could be made through politically connected land sales? Until transparency is forced upon this operation, the people of California (and the taxpayers funding this debacle) are left holding the bag while a select few cash in on the ruins of a train that never was.
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