US EditionCalifornia Legislators Move Forward with Plan to Provide Steady Funding for High-Speed Rail
California's $1 billion annual funding from cap-and-trade revenues through 2045 aims to complete the initial 171-mile Central Valley rail segment by 2033, addressing a $20 billion budget increase.
- California lawmakers this week approved spending another $20 billion on the High Speed Rail Project and extended the cap-and-invest program to 2045, creating a $1 billion annual appropriation for the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
- With cap-and-trade facing expiration in 2030, delays and rising costs led to a last-minute deal between Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders.
- The agreement enables the authority to close funding gaps for the 171-mile Merced-to-Bakersfield segment, with tracklaying starting later this year and plans to borrow for trainset procurement and operations planning.
- HSR CEO Ian Choudri said the $20 billion deal resolves funding gaps and opens public-private engagement, while California legislative leaders called it the largest guaranteed infusion to attract private investors and support jobs.
- Building to Gilroy, Northern California and Palmdale, Southern California could attract private investors, but Los Angeles County and Bay Area transit agencies warn cap-and-trade yields about $4 billion annually, creating trade-offs.
14 Articles
14 Articles
California's high-speed rail project to get $1B annually through 2045
California’s troubled high-speed rail project has received a new financial lifeline. Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a deal with state lawmakers for $1 billion in funding each year through 2045, which is enough to finish the Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced by 2033. However, the funding is not enough to complete the full project designed to connect the San Francisco and Los Angeles regions. Many California leaders have high hopes …
California Legislature barrels toward end of session with marathon meetings, secret negotiations
On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared at the state Capitol for a closed-door meeting with top Democrats in the state Legislature to hammer out a deal on key energy and climate policies that hung in the balance. The stakes were high: Californians are shouldering heavy gas and electricity prices, oil refineries are planning to shutter and the Trump administration has targeted state climate policies. Newsom ultimately struck a six-part deal, annou…
Newsom, legislative leaders reach deal to fund high-speed rail
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California legislative leaders announced a deal Thursday to fund the state’s beleaguered bullet train project with $1 billion annually from 2030 to 2045. The funds, should the full Legislature sign off on them, would be enough to complete the initial 171-mile stretch underway in the Central Valley but not enough to build out to population centers in the north and south — let alone complete the entire San Francisco to Los An…
California legislators move forward with plan to provide steady funding for High-Speed Rail
California legislators are not backing down from the commitment to create a high-speed rail system to connect the Bay Area and the Los Angeles basin. On Saturday, the California Legislature will convene to approve new energy and climate agreements, including one that will extend the state's cap-and-trade emissions program through 2045. As part of that agreement, which was negotiated between state legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California…
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