The California High Speed Rail Authority will need an additional $100 billion to complete its original line from San Francisco to Los Angeles, on top of the roughly $30 billion it already has, CEO Brian Kelly told state lawmakers this week. told.
As Breitbart News noted in 2023, the project was slated to cost $100 billion more than the $33 billion originally approved by voters in 2008. And, as Breitbart News first reported in 2014, it would cost at least $100 billion to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It was three hours, as originally promised when California voters approved the plan.
Local NBC affiliate KCRA Sacramento report:
Mr. Kelly testified before the State Senate Transportation Committee on the latest draft business plan for the High Speed Rail Authority. During Tuesday’s hearing, Kelly told lawmakers the project has $28 billion on hand, but is still billions of dollars short of completing the Central Valley section between Merced and Bakersfield. he pointed out. Depending on how long the segment takes to finish, the cost could range from $32 billion to $35 billion. Kelly said the project expects federal funding to fill the gap. This part of the project is expected to be fully operational between 2030 and 2033, Kelly said.
Project leaders estimate they will need an additional $100 billion to complete what they originally proposed to voters in 2008: a bullet train between San Francisco and Los Angeles. No timeline for completion has been set as officials are awaiting environmental permits for these segments.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) originally canceled the northern and southern high-speed rail projects in 2019, saying they would be “too expensive” and “too time-consuming.” However, he insisted on building the Central Valley portion of the railroad.
President Donald Trump famously tried to recoup the money California spent on the project. President Joe Biden has revived his interest in high-speed rail, including a private line from Southern California to Las Vegas.
It remains to be seen whether there will be public demand for rail service between San Francisco and Los Angeles, which is cheap and easy to travel by plane. Demand for the Central Valley portion of the route is likely to be even lower.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a new biography, Rhoda: “Comrade Cadderly, you are abnormal.”. He is also the author of a recently published e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
