CEO's gone; High-Speed Rail still plans to lay first tracks this year. Does it need the win?
The recent resignation of its CEO hasn’t changed the California High-Speed Rail Authority ’s plan to lay the project’s first tracks by the end of year, says the head of the agency’s board, a milestone that could improve the public image of the often-maligned project. The agency says it has already begun receiving the building materials it needs to begin that work in Kern County. “We’re moving forward,” board Chair Steve Kawa told The Fresno Bee. “We’re going to be getting track, and we’re going to be laying track in 2026.” The rail authority has spent most of the last two years promising the physical milestone by the end of this year — more than a decade after construction began in the Central Valley — so failing to begin that work could worsen the project’s already strained public image. Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, has indicated he wants to reform high-speed rail, but he has provided few details about any potential plans. Jonathan Underland, Becerra’s spokesperson, did not respond to The Fresno Bee’s request for an interview with the governor-elect. If the agency succeeds in laying track in the next six weeks, it could take a late win in what
