WASCO, Calif. — In a ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 3, California Gov. Gavin Newsom marked the completion of the Southern Railhead Facility for the California high-speed rail project.
The rail yard at the 150-acre site in Kern County near the community of Wasco will be used to receive, store, and distribute materials for track construction and other work on the 171-mile segment between Bakersfield and Merced. Nearly 80 miles of guideway are complete, as well as 58 structures such as bridges; another 29 structures are under construction.
In a press release, Newsom called completion of the railhead facility “another critical step in the track-laying phase,” while state Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said, “This milestone underscores the progress California is making by moving from planning to implementation. With track installation now within reach, completing the railhead puts real momentum behind the work ahead.”
Newsom took part in groundbreaking at the site last January [see “Ceremony marks start …,” Trains.com, Jan. 7, 2025]. Actual track construction for the long-delayed, over-budget project is in the Request for Proposals stage, with proposals due in March [see “California high-speed project issues request …,” Nov. 28, 2025].
The federal government has pulled its support for the project, but the state has committed to providing $1 billion in annual funding through 2045.
— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
If the Feds had not forced CA to start construction in the San Joaquin Valley with a new R/W paralleling the BNSF R/W (into which CA has invested millions over the past thirty years and on which Amtrak’s Gold Runners operate), but instead started on the Bakersfield to Palmdale segment, we would be close to having an operational LA to Oakland (or Sacramento) one seat train ride in far less time than the once a day Coast Starlight takes. Yes, it would be conventional rail, but an incremental step towards HSR. And the public would have something to see what they limited money would have bought (i.e., the supply would induce the demand, which would justify the expansion to HSR later.)
Instead, the system under construction might be completed – if ever – after most of us in the forum will no longer be around to ride it.
Material handling is a part of construction but it’s not something that the state’s governor normally gets excited about. Unless, of course, there’s no other progress that he can point to.
Since he’s running for president maybe he would be better off avoiding this boondoggle. Billions of dollars for the Bakersfield-Merced Corridor aren’t likely to impress out-of-state voters (not to mention California;’s other problems).