Design and Construction Report staff writer
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will review the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) to determine whether roughly $4 billion in taxpayer money should remain committed to the proposed project to build high-speed rail in the California Central Valley between Merced and Bakersfield.
The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles project was initially to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion. Today, the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone would cost more than the original total. The latest estimate for San Francisco to Los Angeles is $106 billion — more than three times the original cost estimate.
“This review is going to focus on that $4 billion that was for two construction projects as part of the Merced to Bakersfield construction,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said at a press conference where he announced the review last week. “We’re going to look at whether the California High-Speed Rail Authority has actually complied with the agreements that they’ve signed with the federal government,” he said.
“We can’t just say we’re going to give money and then not hold states accountable to how they spend that money.”
Earlier this month President Trump criticized the high-speed rail project.
As recently noted by the California High-Speed Rail Office of the Inspector General, just the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment has a funding gap of at least $6.5 billion. That gap remains despite California being due to receive over $4 billion from the Biden Administration. The CHSRA Inspector General also found that even this limited project, with barely two million in annual projected ridership because it fails to connect California’s larger cities, is unlikely to be completed by 2033.
In March of 2023, the CHSRA Peer Review Group, charged with evaluating CHSRA’s funding plans, reported an “unfunded gap of $92.6 billion to $103.1 billion between estimated costs and known State and Federal funding” for the San Francisco-to-Las Angeles connection. Given the red flags raised about this project, FRA will investigate the delays and cost overruns through a compliance and performance review.
The slow progress by CHSRA contrasts with the impressive work of Brightline West to build a high-speed rail system. Brightline West plans to begin service between the Los Angeles region and Las Vegas in 2028.
At the direction of Secretary Duffy, FRA will review CHSRA and the progress on the Merced-to-Bakersfield Corridor. The detailed review will look at CHSRA’s compliance under the FRA-administered grant agreements to determine whether CHSRA has fully met its obligations under the award terms.
