By SDCN Staff
Washington, D.C.–At the direction of Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy Thursday, the Federal Railroad Administration initiated a review of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
This review will help determine whether roughly $4 billion in taxpayer money should remain committed to the proposed project to build high-speed rail in the California Central Valley between Merced and Bakersfield.
The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion. The Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone would cost more than the original total. The latest estimate for San Francisco to Los Angeles is $106 billion — more than three times the original cost estimate.
“For too long, taxpayers have subsidized the massively over-budget and delayed California High-Speed Rail project,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “President Trump is right that this project is in dire need of an investigation. That is why I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the CHSRA 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.”
As recently noted by the California High-Speed Rail Office of the Inspector General, just the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment has a funding gap of at least $6.5 billion. That gap remains despite California being due to receive over $4 billion from the Biden Administration. The Inspector General also found that even this limited project, with barely 2 million in annual projected ridership because it fails to connect California’s larger cities, is unlikely to be completed by 2033.
In March of 2023, the rail authority Peer Review Group, charged with evaluating the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s funding plans, reported an “unfunded gap of $92.6 billion to $103.1 billion between estimated costs and known State and Federal funding” for the San Francisco-to-Las Angeles connection. The FRA will investigate the delays and cost overruns through a compliance and performance review.
Duffy says the slow progress by the rail authority contrasts with the work of Brightline West to build a high-speed rail system. Brightline West plans to begin service between the Los Angeles region and Las Vegas in 2028.
At the direction of Duffy, FRA will review the California High-Speed Rail Authority and the progress on the Merced-to-Bakersfield Corridor. The detailed review will look at their compliance under the FRA-administered grant agreements to determine whether the rail authority has fully met its obligations under the award terms.
