It's all over for the California Bullet train after spending billions.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday he is pulling the plug on the state's massive high-speed rail project from Los Angeles to San Francisco that was more than a decade behind schedule and billions in the red.
"Let's be real," Newsom said in his first State of the State address. "The current project, as planned, would cost too much and respectfully take too long. There's been too little oversight and not enough transparency."
Newsom added that while California has "the capacity to complete a high-speed rail link between Merced and Bakersfield," "there simply isn't a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A."
The embattled $77-billion bullet train has been an embarrassment for the Golden State and has been plagued by problems almost from the start.
The idea, long championed by Newsom's predecessor, Jerry Brown, is years behind schedule with the latest estimate for completion set for 2033.
According to the audit, the state risked having to pay back as much as $3.5 billion in federal funds.
"This audit is so ****ing that it basically says there is no path to completion and has now triggered a federal audit," Assemblyman Jim Patterson, a Republican from Fresno who pushed for the audit, said.
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