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A Scenic Tour of Red Tape: Tracking the Slowest High-Speed Train in the Country
A Scenic Tour of Red Tape: Tracking the Slowest High-Speed Train in the Country
An orchard outside of Hanford, Calif., will be the site of a high-speed rail overpass. It is part of the scaled-back project that was once scheduled to be completed in 2020 but is now slated for 2033. Ian C. Bates for The New York Times
Can America still build big things? A long ride through California’s Central Valley tells a gloomy story.
By John Branch
John Branch, a former resident of Fresno, drove hundreds miles through the Central Valley to meet with farmers and other landowners.
May 4, 2025
On a recent Friday, Mark Wasser, an eminent-domain lawyer from Sacramento, embarked on a one-day road trip of more than 500 miles. It is one that he has taken often over the past decade. … A tall and trim man in his 70s, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, Mr. Wasser folded himself into the driver’s seat of his car and aimed south. He drove toward dozens of California’s high-speed rail construction projects scattered across the vast farmland of the Central Valley.
No one has represented more eminent domain cases involving the rail project than Mr. Wasser. In the long distances between stops, visiting clients and seeing the changing landscape, he pondered something that Gov. Gavin Newsom had said a few days before.
Mr. Newsom was a guest on “Real Time With Bill Maher” when the host blamed lawyers, lobbyists, contractors, environmentalists, unions and others for the delays. … “The biggest delay on high-speed rail,” Mr. Newsom replied, “has been taking 2,270 properties under eminent domain and ultimately getting the environmental work cleared.”
It was a bold and pointed casting of blame for a project that is a running joke — a not-running joke — and a punchline for government inefficiency and bureaucratic entanglement. … California’s high-speed rail exists today mostly as a gauge for whether the country can build big things in the 21st century. So far, the answer appears to be no. Approved by voters in 2008 with the promise of connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco by now, no track has been laid. Initial cost estimates of $33 billion have tripled.
Mark Wasser, an eminent-domain lawyer, represents about 70 clients whose property has been acquired for the rail project. Delays, he said, have nothing to do with them. Ian C. Bates for The New York Times
{snip}
John Branch writes feature stories on a wide swath of topics, including sports, climate and politics. He is based in California.
An orchard outside of Hanford, Calif., will be the site of a high-speed rail overpass. It is part of the scaled-back project that was once scheduled to be completed in 2020 but is now slated for 2033. Ian C. Bates for The New York Times
Can America still build big things? A long ride through California’s Central Valley tells a gloomy story.
By John Branch
John Branch, a former resident of Fresno, drove hundreds miles through the Central Valley to meet with farmers and other landowners.
May 4, 2025
On a recent Friday, Mark Wasser, an eminent-domain lawyer from Sacramento, embarked on a one-day road trip of more than 500 miles. It is one that he has taken often over the past decade. … A tall and trim man in his 70s, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, Mr. Wasser folded himself into the driver’s seat of his car and aimed south. He drove toward dozens of California’s high-speed rail construction projects scattered across the vast farmland of the Central Valley.
No one has represented more eminent domain cases involving the rail project than Mr. Wasser. In the long distances between stops, visiting clients and seeing the changing landscape, he pondered something that Gov. Gavin Newsom had said a few days before.
Mr. Newsom was a guest on “Real Time With Bill Maher” when the host blamed lawyers, lobbyists, contractors, environmentalists, unions and others for the delays. … “The biggest delay on high-speed rail,” Mr. Newsom replied, “has been taking 2,270 properties under eminent domain and ultimately getting the environmental work cleared.”
It was a bold and pointed casting of blame for a project that is a running joke — a not-running joke — and a punchline for government inefficiency and bureaucratic entanglement. … California’s high-speed rail exists today mostly as a gauge for whether the country can build big things in the 21st century. So far, the answer appears to be no. Approved by voters in 2008 with the promise of connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco by now, no track has been laid. Initial cost estimates of $33 billion have tripled.
Mark Wasser, an eminent-domain lawyer, represents about 70 clients whose property has been acquired for the rail project. Delays, he said, have nothing to do with them. Ian C. Bates for The New York Times
{snip}
John Branch writes feature stories on a wide swath of topics, including sports, climate and politics. He is based in California.