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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during an event in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
By David Shepardson
(Reuters) – California’s high-speed rail project, aiming to transport travelers from San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin in under three hours, is still encountering significant funding challenges despite a $3.1 billion federal award.
The White House recently announced $8.2 billion in federal funding for rail projects across the country, including the California project, which is billed as the first U.S. speed rail project with speeds of 220 miles per hour.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who requested approval from President Joe Biden in October, described the award as “a vote of confidence in today’s vision and comes at a critical turning point, providing the project new momentum.”
In addition to the California project, the administration also awarded $3 billion for a planned high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg commented that the California project “is facing a lot of the challenges that come with being the very first at anything” and added that winning rail awards faced an “extraordinary level of scrutiny.”
The costs for the California high-speed rail project, which had $10 billion in funding approved by voters in 2008, have risen sharply. The authority has not identified the key funding needed for the project, leading to numerous delays.
The full San Francisco to Los Angeles project was initially estimated to cost around $40 billion, but has now skyrocketed to between $88 billion and $128 billion.
The rail authority estimated costs for an initial 171-mile segment connecting Merced to Bakersfield rose from $25.7 billion to at least $32 billion, and is hoping to begin initial service in 2030.
The Obama administration awarded California $3.5 billion in 2010, and the state has dedicated another $4.2 billion to the project.
California is seeking $8 billion in total from the Biden administration for the project after recently winning another $202 million in federal funds for grade separation projects.
In 2021, the Biden administration restored funding for the California project after then-President Donald Trump pulled funding for the project, hobbled by delays and rising costs, calling it a “disaster.” Many Republicans in Congress want to bar the White House from awarding more funding to the project.