The California High-Speed Rail project, the troubled bullet train that would connect Northern and Southern California, will be investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, said Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation on Thursday, Feb 20.
The current estimate for linking San Francisco with Southern California is estimated to cost $128 billion and has been plagued by cost overruns and delays, to the point where several Republican lawmakers spoke alongside the secretary, in favor of halting spending on the project.
“I will direct the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) to do a compliance review — to assess the (upcoming) Bakersfield construction. We will look at whether the California High-Speed Rail project has actually complied with the agreements with the federal government,” Duffy said.
Duffy’s announcement made at Union Station in Los Angeles was interrupted for more than 30 minutes by protesters outside the closed-off hall, shouting “Build the train!’’ At times, Duffy and various elected officials had to speak over the raucous demonstrators.
The audit, Duffy said, will scrutinize the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s compliance under FRA-administered grant agreements to decide whether the agency has met its obligations to secure the funding.
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The transportation secretary said the feds will look into $4 billion awarded to the project by the Biden Administration for continuation of building in California’s Central Valley. So far, he said the federal government has invested $15.7 billion in the project.
“The federal government has a right to know where this money went,” Duffy said. “We have to ask the federal government: Do we actually want to invest more money into this project.”
Duffy’s announcement comes two weeks after President Donald Trump lambasted the project for skyrocketing costs and multiple construction delays. The president said on Feb. 4 that his administration would investigate how billions in federal and state funding has been spent.
“The train that’s being built between Los Angeles and San Francisco is the worst-managed project I think I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some of the worst,” Trump told reporters, asserting that the project is “billions and billions” of dollars over budget.
“We’re going to start a big investigation of that, because I’ve never seen anything like it,” he added. “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. The worst overruns that there have ever been in the history of our country.”
Duffy’s announcement comes two weeks after Trump lambasted the project for skyrocketing costs and multiple construction delays. The president said on Feb. 4 that his administration would investigate how billions in federal and state funding has been spent.
The Department of Transportation statement that cited “the slow progress by CHSRA” added, however, that it “contrasts with the impressive work of Brightline West to build a high-speed rail system.” Brightline West aims to launch bullet-train service between Rancho Cucagmonga and Las Vegas in 2028.
One day before the president’s remarks condemning the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the project’s inspector general, Benjamin Belnap, issued a report saying it was not likely that the rail line would be able to meet its goal of starting passenger service between Merced and Bakersfield by 2033.
“In fact, uncertainty about some parts of the project has increased as the authority has recently made decisions that deviated from the procurement and funding strategies that were part of its plans for staying on schedule,” Belnap wrote.
GOP members of the state legislature fired off a letter to Trump last week urging an investigation into the project.
The missive demanded an assessment of the viability of the project and urged the president to hold the High Speed Rail Authority accountable for its “mismanagement” and “broken promises.” The lawmakers asked why a risk-analysis assessment was not done for the Merced-to-Bakersfield arm of the project.
In January, Newsom trumpeted the work already completed on the Central Valley portion of the project.
“No state in America is closer to launching high-speed rail than California – and today, we just took a massive step forward. We’re moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments, and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network,” said the governor, “The future of transportation is being realized right here in the Central Valley with thousands of good paying jobs already created and 171 miles being worked on. As only California can, we’re building America’s biggest infrastructure project.”
California voters first approved nearly $10 billion in bonds for the high-speed rail project in 2008, and it’s been plagued by cost overruns and delays since. It’s been paid for with federal money, bond dollars and revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade program that requires polluters to pay to emit greenhouse gases.
According to a recent poll, a majority of Californians who took part say the California High-Speed Rail project is still worthy of state funding.
Of those surveyed, 54% said the high-speed rail project was a good use of state funds. The poll was conducted by Emerson College and commissioned by KTLA parent company Nexstar Media.
The proposal has been a political lightning rod for many years and has undergone myriad waves of changes. In 2019, Newsom scaled back expectations for the most ambitious tendrils of the program, which was envisioned to link the Bay Area to Los Angeles and on down to the Inland Empire and, eventually to San Diego. The governor vowed, however, to keep the 119-mile San Joaquin Valley segment of the line on target.
As of this week, there was no firm timetable for completely the full scope of the project or solid confirmation for the billions of dollars needed to complete it. From its original estimates, the project’s projected cost has grown over the years by tens of billions.
Last month, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, introduced legislation to eliminate federal funding for the project. “There is no plausible scenario where the cost to federal or state taxpayers can be justified,” said Kiley, who is aligned with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, assigned by Trump to cut government spending and bureaucracy via the Department of Government Efficiency.
Some state lawmakers, however, have vowed to find ways to fund the project. State Sen. Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, promised to introduce legislation to tackle funding shortfalls.
Sen. Alex Padilla has pledged to “use every available avenue to protect current funding and prevent clawbacks of federal high speed rail investments.”
Duffy and other Trump appointees and nominees have branded the project a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Duffy was confirmed Jan 28 as transportation secretary, taking over the department at a crucial time at the agency, a massive employer of more than 55,000 that spends tens of billions of dollars annually, oversees the nation’s highways, railroads and airspace and sets safety standards for trains, cars and trucks.
The Transportation Department oversees the nation’s complex and aging transportation system, including its highways, railroads and airspace. It sets safety standards for trains, cars and trucks. Trump and Duffy have both hinted at programs that boost expansion of the nation’s highway system over public transit efforts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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