California's High-Speed Rail Project Could Run Out of Money by December of 2027
A revised cap-and-invest program has cut expected revenue by about half, threatening borrowing plans and the first Merced-to-Bakersfield segment, analysts said.
- Inspector General Ben Belnap warned on Tuesday that California High-Speed Rail Authority could exhaust its current funding resources as soon as December 2027 if it fails to secure new financing.
- State Air Resources Board rule changes halved greenhouse gas auction revenues to $2 billion annually, while the project previously lost $4 billion in federal funds under the Trump administration.
- Belnap concluded the 2026 business plan 'obscured basic facts about the project,' while the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment's schedule now extends to September 2034 instead of 2032-2033.
- Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Lori Wilson and Senate counterpart Dave Cortese expressed concern, with Wilson stating, 'We need to push for more oversight. The Legislature deserves an answer.'
- With the legislative session ending August 31, lawmakers and Governor Gavin Newsom must address the funding gap after the Authority cut its train order to three sets and dropped 'Buy America' requirements.
15 Articles
15 Articles
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The Daily Signal
ussanews.comAfter Billions Spent and Zero Trains, California’s Rail Boondoggle Nears a Reckoning
California’s high-speed rail boondoggle may finally be running out of money. It’s bad news for Gov. Gavin Newsom, possibly good news for the people of California. I’ve been opining about why the California bullet train will never succeed since I wrote my very first column as a young college pup. But even my accurate (though...
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It's obvious now that California's roughly 18-year-old High-Speed Rail Project (authorized by voters in 2008), which has spent on the order of $15–18 billion and still has not laid a single mile of actual high-speed track on the main alignment, is a train to nowhere. Practically speaking, how can Californians derail it permanently? The project has produced substantial civil work-about 80...
California high-speed rail could run out of money by 2027, inspector general warns
A new report from Inspector General Benjamin Belnap warns that California's high-speed rail project faces a major funding shortfall by December 2027 alongside hidden costs and delays.
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