Fact check: Is Trump right that California’s high-speed rail project will be ‘a mile long?’

President Donald Trump used the occasion of his visit to Bakersfield to joke about California’s long-delayed and over-budget high-speed rail project.

“Billions and billions and billions of dollars, it was originally supposed to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and now in order to get the cost down pretty soon, it’ll be a mile long,” Trump said, gesturing in a manner that indicated a shortening in length.

Is he right?

Not entirely.

Trump is correct in that the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s original plan was to link Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has acknowledged the state does not have the resources to pursue the full project today.

However, Newsom has not given up on the full project and work is moving forward in the Central Valley.

The current proposal, for which the agency released a draft version of its 2020 business plan, calls for a high-speed rail line between Merced and Bakersfield, as part of a larger plan to connect the Central Valley to San Jose, according to the Fresno Bee.

That’s just over 163 miles, according to Google Maps.

Newsom, in his 2019 State of the State speech, announced that he would be reducing the project’s scope after its price tag grew to $77 billion, far more than the $10 billion bond approved by voters when Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor.

Newsom said the reduced scope project could be a boon for the Central Valley.

“The Valley may be known around the world for agriculture, but there is another story ready to be told. A story of a region hungry for investment, a workforce eager for more training and good jobs, Californians who deserve a fair share of our state’s prosperity,” Newsom said at the time. “The high speed rail project can be part of that.”

In response to Newsom’s decision, Trump demanded that California return billions of federal dollars, calling the project a “green disaster.” The White House last revoked funding from the California project, and the state filed a lawsuit to recover the money.

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Fact check: Is Trump right that California’s high-speed rail project will be ‘a mile long?’."