Trump’s administration said there is no viable path for California’s high-speed rail projects, giving the state a response by mid-July
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The US High Speed Rail Law includes ambitious proposals to build a national rail network.
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) – The Trump administration said there is no viable path for California’s high-speed rail projects and warned that it could withdraw $4 billion in government funds in the coming weeks.
The U.S. Department of Transport released a 315-page report from the Federal Railroad Administration on June 4th. One important issue cited is that California has not identified $7 billion in additional funds needed to build the first 171-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield, California.
USDOT gave California to respond until mid-July, after which the administration was able to end the grant. Trump said last month that the US government would not pay for the project.
The FRA report said California “contains taxpayers from a $4 billion investment, so there is no viable plan to provide a partial segment of that on time.”
The California High Speed Rail System is a planned two-phase, 800-mile system with speeds of 220 mph, intended to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim.
The California High Speed Railroad Administration said it is strongly opposed to the administration’s conclusion that “reflects substantial progress in delivering high speed rails in California.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal said Congress will extend funding at least $1 billion a year for the next 20 years and “providing the resources needed to complete the initial operational segment of the project.”
Authorities said in May there was active civil construction along 119 miles in the central valley of the state.
Voters approved $10 billion for the project in 2008, but costs have risen sharply. The Transportation Department under former President Joe Biden has awarded the project about $4 billion.
The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles project was originally supposed to be completed at $33 billion by 2020, but now jumps from $89 billion to $128 billion.
In 2021, Biden recovered a $929 million grant for California’s high-speed rail that Trump cancelled in 2019 after a Republican president called the project a “disaster.”
