The U.S. Department of Transportation Wednesday announced its determination to terminate federal funding for California’s high speed rail, finding zero track has been laid on the project — first approved by voters 15 years ago.
DOT cited the state government’s “persistent noncompliance” with the federal grant agreement and no plan, even with existing federal grants, to close its admitted $7 billion budget gap for the initial 171-mile segment connecting Merced to Bakersfield in the sparsely populated Central Valley.
“What started as a proposed 800-mile system was first reduced to 500 miles, then became a 171-mile segment, and is now very likely ended as a 119-mile track to nowhere,” found the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration. “In essence, [the California High Speed Rail Authority] has conned the taxpayer out of its $4 billion investment, with no viable plan to deliver even that partial segment on time.”
DOT says CHSRA has received $6.9 billion in federal funds in the last 15 years, while the likely-to-be-terminated grants would provide $4 billion. According to CHRA, approximately $13 billion has been spent on the project thus far.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest budget proposes spending more than $1 billion per year in cap-and-trade emissions credit charges on gas and oil producers, and other greenhouse gas emitters.
“The Authority strongly disagrees with the FRA’s conclusions, which are misguided and do not reflect the substantial progress made to deliver high-speed rail in California,” responded CHSRA. “The Governor’s budget proposal, which is currently before the legislature, extends at least $1 billion per year in funding for the next 20 years, providing the necessary resources to complete the project’s initial operating segment.”
It’s unclear if CHRA is referring to the 171-mile Merced-Bakersfield route, or the 119-mile-mile First Construction Segment Contingency that would run between Madera, a city of almost 70,000 residents, and Poplar Avenue in Kern County, which is near but not in Shafer, a small city of just over 20,000 residents.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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