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2mo ago

Trump administration threatens to revoke $4 billion in federal support for California high-speed rail

A Federal Railroad Administration review finds no viable completion path; state rail officials must reply by mid-July or face grant termination

FILE - California High-Speed Rail Authority crews work at the Hanford Viaduct construction site, April 15, 2025, in Kings County, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
A single bus makes its way through the bus level of the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco, in 2023. The building complex was designed with the intent high speed rail would eventually reach its basement.
A freight locomotive rolls across an intersection in Fresno, California January 6, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo

Overview

  • The FRA’s 315-page compliance review cites years of mismanagement, broken promises and zero miles of track laid despite $6.9 billion in federal funding
  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that two grants totaling nearly $4 billion could be reallocated to other infrastructure projects if California fails to meet its commitments
  • Project costs have soared from the original $33 billion estimate to over $100 billion, leaving a $7 billion shortfall to complete the Merced-Bakersfield Early Operating Segment
  • Scope has been slashed from an 800-mile system to a 171-mile Central Valley segment that faces further reduction to a 119-mile line without new funding
  • Governor Gavin Newsom has pledged at least $1 billion per year in state funds and is exploring public-private partnerships to bridge financing gaps