Trump administration takes aim at $4B in funding for California high-speed rail [View all]
Source: AP
Updated 6:44 PM EST, February 20, 2025
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Trump administration is once again targeting California’s controversial high-speed rail project, with federal transportation officials on Thursday announcing an investigation and possible withdrawal of about $4 billion in federal funding.
Voters first approved $10 billion in bond money in 2008 for a project designed to shuttle riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles in less than three hours. It was slated to cost $33 billion and be finished by 2020. But the project has been beset by funding challenges, cost overruns and delays.
Now, state officials are focused on a 171-mile (275-kilometer) stretch connecting the Central Valley cities of Bakersfield and Merced, which is set to be operating by 2033. The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles line will now cost an estimated $106 billion to finish and officials hope to complete it in the next 20 years if there is money.
“I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the (California High-Speed Rail Authority) has followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding. If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a news conference in Los Angeles.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/california-high-speed-rail-trump-investigation-5b4d6494a8cdd9a3fe3b8949bb5b1bba
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