The federal government will reverse course and help build California’s high-speed rail project with a $929 million grant.
California and the U.S. Department of Transportation finalized settlement negotiations to restore nearly a billion dollars in federal grant funding to the state’s first-of-its kind transit project. The Trump administration had rescinded the subsidy in 2019.
Gov. Gavin Newsom lauded the reversal as evidence that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris share a similar vision with California: “Clean, electrified transportation that will serve generations to come.”
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Newsom also praised the project’s impact on the economy, touting how it would spur job creation. The 119-mile worksite has more than 35 construction sites employing around 1,100 workers daily.
When former President Donald Trump canceled the federal government’s allocation for the project in 2019, the White House blamed California lawmakers who “abandoned” the initial plan. Newsom described the move as “political retribution.”
Trains originally would have sped from San Diego through Los Angeles and on to San Francisco. Lawsuits and engineering difficulties that would have doubled the price tag from $33 billion to $77 billion forced a massively scaled-down project. The new route stretches through the Central Valley from Bakersfield to Merced.
“We appreciate the DOT’s expression of confidence that we are getting this project on the right track,” said high-speed rail CEO Brian Kelly.
This will be the first high-speed rail system in the United States. Trains can reach speeds up to 220 mph. Developers hope to complete the project by 2028.
President Biden’s massive infrastructure plan includes $80 billion in future funding for other high-speed rail projects.