Cost for California bullet train soars to $77B

The projected cost of California’s bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles has jumped 20 percent to $77 billion and the opening date has been pushed back four years to 2033.

The numbers were presented Friday in the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s new business plan. It’s the first under new chief executive Brian Kelly, who has promised more public transparency around the project plagued by delays and rising costs.

The agency’s immediate focus is opening track from San Francisco to the farm-rich Central Valley, also delayed by four years to 2029.

The train’s first operational segment, 119 miles (192 kilometers) in the Central Valley, is now slated for completion in 2022. That’s 14 years after voters approved a $10 billion bond for high-speed rail in 2008.