--- description: Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a high-speed railway between SF and LA, marking a symbolic victory for a project that still faces significant hurdles title: California Breaks Ground for $68 Billion Bullet Train image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd321ba6ed056473/6987786935ba6f5665c0655b/jerry-brown.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # California Breaks Ground for $68 Billion Bullet Train  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 6, 2015 6:29 PM CUT  Jerry Brown, governor of California, speaks at the State Capitol in Sacramento, Ca., Jan. 5, 2015. Jerry Brown, governor of California, speaks at the State Capitol in Sacramento, Ca., Jan. 5, 2015.Ken James—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 6, 2015 6:29 PM CUT California Governor Jerry Brown will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the first stretch of a high-speed railway between San Francisco and Los Angeles this Tuesday, marking a symbolic victory for a project that still faces significant political opposition and funding shortfalls. Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony in Fresno will kick off construction on the first 29-mile segment of the rail system, the Los Angeles _Times_ [reports](http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-construction-start-20150105-story.html#page=1 "undefined"). The project’s backers, primarily Democratic lawmakers, secured a number of legislative victories that cleared away legal challenges to land acquisitions and shored up additional funds for the $68 billion project. Still, the project remains at least 50% short of the funds required to complete the railway by 2028, the L.A. _Times_ reports, and continues to face staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers who criticize it as a fiscal boondoggle. [Read more at _LA Times_.](http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-construction-start-20150105-story.html#page=1 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3656062/california-high-speed-bullet-railway/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3656062/california-high-speed-bullet-railway/"},"headline":"California Breaks Ground for $68 Billion Bullet Train","datePublished":"2015-01-06T18:29:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:19:53.879Z","description":"Political feuds, funding shortages and legal hurdles notwithstanding","url":"https://time.com/3656062/california-high-speed-bullet-railway/","keywords":["California","Transportation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd321ba6ed056473/6987786935ba6f5665c0655b/jerry-brown.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd321ba6ed056473/6987786935ba6f5665c0655b/jerry-brown.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"California Governor Jerry Brown Calls For Adding $2.8 Billion To Reserve Fund","caption":"California Governor Jerry Brown Calls For Adding $2.8 Billion To Reserve Fund","creditText":"Ken James—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3656062/california-high-speed-bullet-railway/","name":"California Breaks Ground for $68 Billion Bullet Train"}}]}] ```