The Transportation Department is withdrawing $4 billion in federal funding for California’s High-Speed Rail project, which aims to connect major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to a statement made by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday. In a social media post, Trump voiced his harsh disapproval of the project, saying, “This project was severely overpriced, overregulated, and never delivered.” He also added, “The railway we were promised still does not exist and never will.”
Like Trump, the Department of Transportation stated that there was no clear way forward for the project. The California High-Speed Rail was deemed “grossly over budget” by the department, which also hinted at the potential for reclaiming additional federal funding related to the project.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California swiftly criticised the action, calling it a “illegal action.” This ruling is the most recent in a string of conflicts between the Trump administration and California, which have also included disagreements over military deployments, electric vehicle regulations, and transgender athletes.
Missed deadlines, financial shortages, and inaccurate ridership estimates were among the problems covered in the Federal Railroad Administration’s recent 315-page report. It brought attention to a significant funding shortfall, as California would require an extra $7 billion to finish a 171-mile section of the rail between Merced and Bakersfield. Progress has been greatly slowed by the fact that track-laying has not yet started.
The project was initially planned to be a two-phase, 800-mile high-speed rail system that would be finished by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion. Costs, however, have skyrocketed to between $89 billion and $128 billion. The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s CEO, Ian Choudri, condemned the funding withdrawal as unlawful and emphasised that the project was approaching the track-laying phase, with significant job creation and ongoing construction.
With Newsom suggesting a budget extension of at least $1 billion per year for the next 20 years, California is still looking for funding. California is still dedicated to the project’s future in spite of the federal government’s actions.
