US EditionCongressional Committee Is Investigating California’s High-Speed Rail Project
Funding shortfalls and low ridership projections threaten the Merced segment, prompting a strategic shift to connect Gilroy and Palmdale for better regional integration and future profitability.
- On Friday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority warned the scaled-down Central Valley segment is unlikely to be profitable at launch, and Merced, California, may be excluded from initial plans.
- With an $8.6 billion funding gap and growing costs, the initial segment now totals $36.8 billion; earlier this year the White House clawed back a $4 billion federal grant, prompting California to sue for its return.
- Retooled numbers show ridership and revenue shortfalls, with the Merced–Bakersfield line generating 2.2 million annual rides, $55.6 million in passenger revenue, and a $3.8 billion 40-year operating loss.
- The authority is urging a Gilroy–Palmdale route as the only viable path, but it requires lawmakers to loosen SB 198 and lift the $500 million spending cap, demanding up to $5.1 billion annually or $3.06 billion over 45 years.
- Authority CEO Ian Choudri seeks private investors to finish the rail, Governor Gavin Newsom's cap-and-trade extension would fund it through 2045, and the report projects $98.1 billion earnings.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Daily Breeze
Press-TelegramCongressional committee is investigating California’s high-speed rail project
The House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into California’s high-speed rail project earlier this week, probing whether cost and ridership estimates were “misrepresented” in order to secure federal and state funding. Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, requested documents and communications, as well as a “staff-level briefing” from the U.S. Department of Transportation by Sept. 2, related to the California High-…
House Committee Launches Probe Into California’s High-Speed Rail
California’s beleaguered high-speed rail project is under investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The probe, launched Aug. 19, will focus on whether project officials knowingly misrepresented the ridership projections and financial viability of the long-delayed and expensive rail line to secure federal and state funds. Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) has requested a staff-level briefing, document…
Napa Valley Register
California high speed rail: Central Valley line alone won’t be profitable. Building to Gilroy could be
California’s long-embattled bullet train faces another dilemma. A new report released Friday by the California High-Speed Rail Authority warns that the scaled-down Central Valley segment — the only portion of the line currently under construction — is unlikely to be…
Cal Matters
For California high-speed rail to succeed, part of the Central Valley will have to wait
For California high-speed rail to become financially viable, lawmakers will need to back the CEO's new route and new funding strategy.
For California high-speed rail to succeed, part of the Central Valley will have to wait - Fresnoland
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Since Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first State of the State address six years ago, California has stopped pursuing a high-speed rail system that actually connects the Bay Area to Southern California, as was promised to voters in 2008. And in that void, politicians, pundits and a mostly partisan minority of voters howled and cried boondoggle, discounting the new focus —…
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