Trump administration signals it will slash funds for long-delayed
California high-speed rail project
[June 05, 2025] By
MICHAEL R. BLOOD
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Trump administration signaled Wednesday that it
intends to cut off federal funding for a long-delayed California
high-speed rail project plagued by multibillion-dollar cost overruns,
following the release of a scathing federal report that concluded there
is “no viable path” to complete even a partial section of the line.
Voters first authorized $10 billion in borrowed funds in 2008 to cover
about a third of the estimated cost, with a promise the train would be
up and running by 2020. Five years beyond that deadline, no tracks have
been laid and its estimated price tag has ballooned to over $100
billion.
In a letter to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which oversees
the project, Federal Railroad Administration acting Administrator Drew
Feeley wrote that what was envisioned as an 800-mile system connecting
the state's major cities has been reduced to a blueprint for “a 119-mile
track to nowhere.”
After a $4 billion federal investment, the California agency “has conned
the taxpayer ... with no viable plan to deliver even that partial
segment on time,” Feeley wrote.
State officials defended what's known as the nation’s largest
infrastructure project and said they remain committed to construction,
though it's not clear what funding would replace the federal support if
it's withdrawn. Feeley noted the FRA could seek repayment of the federal
funds but is not proposing to claw back those dollars at this time.
Carol Dahmen, the state authority's chief of strategic communications,
said in a statement that the federal conclusions are misguided and “do
not reflect the substantial progress made to deliver high-speed rail in
California.”
Dahmen noted that the majority of the funding for the line has been
provided by the state and that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget
proposal would extend at least $1 billion a year for 20 years to
complete an initial segment of the line.
State officials are focused on a stretch connecting the Central Valley
cities of Bakersfield and Merced, which is set to be operating by 2033.
The state agency has about a month to formally respond to the FRA, after
which the grants could be terminated.
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Garth Fernandez, Central Valley regional director for the California
High-Speed Rail Authority, talks about the Cedar Viaduct in Fresno,
Calif., April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
 State Sen. Tony Strickland, a
Republican from Huntington Beach who is vice chair of the
Transportation Committee, said that “commonsense has prevailed" and
urged the Legislature's dominant Democrats to redirect the funds
from the rail line to lowering gas prices or investing in viable
construction projects.
“Let’s stop wasting California’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars,”
Strickland said.
There is no known source for the billions of dollars that would be
needed to complete the line.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri suggested in
April that private investors could step in and fill the funding gap
for the project that promised nonstop rail service between San
Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours. At the time, he
acknowledged that even if funding is secured, it might take nearly
two more decades to complete most of that segment.
President Donald Trump — who canceled nearly $1 billion in federal
dollars for the project in his first term — said in May that his
administration will not continue to fund the line. “That train is
the worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen,” Trump told reporters at the
time, calling it "totally out of control.”
California Democratic U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff called
the administration's announcement a “devastating” blow for 21st
century transportation and an effort to punish a heavily Democratic
state that didn't support the Republican president in the election.
“High-speed rail is the future of transportation with the potential
to bring customers to new businesses, businesses to new employees
and to connect communities hundreds of miles away with affordable
and faster transit,” they said in a joint statement.
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