Tale of two trains: California high-speed rail leaves Texas in the dust
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May 7, 2025

Tale of two trains: California high-speed rail leaves Texas in the dust

What you need to know: Despite the Trump Administration's assaults, both California and Texas are working to build high-speed rail. But only one state has built anything: California.

SACRAMENTO — What's the main difference between California high-speed rail and Texas high-speed rail? California's system is under construction; Texas' has yet to break ground.

California has transitioned from vision and ideas to active construction and tangible economic benefits, while the Texas project remains a dream mostly on paper. Despite the noise from Washington, California high-speed rail is becoming real. It's another critical project part of the Governor's build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades and thousands of jobs across the state.

The facts speak for themselves — here's the progress since 2013 for both systems:

	California High-Speed Rail	Texas Central
Route	494 miles – San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim via Central Valley	240 miles – Dallas to Houston, via Brazos Valley
Construction Status	✅ 171 miles under active development; 119 miles under active construction; 52 major structures built; extensions to Merced and Bakersfield in design	❌ Not started
Environmental Clearance	✅ 463 of 494 miles environmentally cleared by federal and state government	Federal clearance (less comprehensive and transparent)
Station Development	✅ Merced, Fresno, Kings/Tulare and Bakersfield in advance design.	❌ Not started
Funding Structure	✅ Public funding (state + federal) with potential for future private investment	❌ Private, federal funding pulled
Projected Opening	✅ Early Operating Segment: 2030-2033	❌ Not established
Jobs Created	✅ 15,000+ jobs	❌ None reported
Economic Benefits	✅ The project has already generated nearly $22 billion in economic output, boosting the state's economy. The full San Francisco-Los Angeles system is estimated to support $221.8 billion in economic output once it's in operation.	❌ No current data. The project is anticipated to generate $36 billion in economic impact over the next 25 years.
Environmental Benefits	✅ Estimated to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions by 0.6 to 3 million MTCO2e annually – this is the equivalent of removing 142,000 to 700,000 cars off the road. More on The Californer Long Beach to Commemorate its Naval History with Commemorative Community Event Long Beach: City Celebrates Inaugural National Home Improvement Month: Love Where You Live California sues Trump administration for illegally withholding billions in bipartisan infrastructure funds: 'Another Trump gift to China' California: State invests nearly $33 billion in cap-and-trade dollars to make communities cleaner and healthier Where AI Falls Short, Real Connections Rise—Media Outreach with Heart Diverted 95% of construction waste from landfills by recycling, reusing or composting.	❌ No current data
Integration with Existing Transit	✅ Future connections to Caltrain, ACE, High Desert Corridor, Brightline West, Metrolink	❌ Standalone

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