Newsom: Track Laying to Begin in California’s High-Speed Rail Project

Gov. Gavin Newsom said California is entering the track-installation phase of its high-speed rail project after the state completed a staging facility in Kern County. In a Feb. 3 announcement, Newsom, a Democrat, said the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) completed the Southern Railhead Facility, a 150-acre site near Wasco—around 25 miles northwest of Bakersfield. The site will operate as a central logistics hub for the delivery, storage, and deployment of materials to electrify and operate the system. “With the completion of the Southern Railhead Facility, we’ve taken another critical step in the track-laying stage,” Newsom said in a release. “California is building the nation’s first high-speed rail system, and we’re proving it can be done.”...