Latest news with #CAHSR
Newsweek
08-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
California High-Speed Rail Reveals New Plan To Save Project
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The California High-Speed Rail project, long beset by rising costs, delays, and political conflict, revealed a new plan led by its recently appointed CEO, Ian Choudri, that relies on $1 billion in annual state funding combined with private capital to help keep the project afloat. Choudri, who took charge of the High-Speed Rail Authority in August, explained during an interview at a transportation conference in San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, emphasizing the potential of public-private partnerships to move the rail initiative forward. Why It Matters While the construction of the California high-speed rail advances across the Central Valley, it has faced growing doubts from the federal government. President Donald Trump has criticized the project, previously calling it a "waste" and a "green disaster." Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has also expressed doubts, citing concerns over the escalating costs and extended timeline, both of which have exceeded initial projections. An aerial image shows construction workers building the Hanford Viaduct over Highway 198 as part of the California High Speed Rail (CAHSR) transit project in Hanford, California on February 12, 2025. An aerial image shows construction workers building the Hanford Viaduct over Highway 198 as part of the California High Speed Rail (CAHSR) transit project in Hanford, California on February 12, 2025. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images What To Know Choudri's proposal centers on securing $1 billion annually from the state's climate emissions program, a fund typically allocated to clean energy initiatives such as public transit and electric vehicles, the Chronicle reported. "We are looking at state-level commitments so that we can bring private equity partners in," Choudri said in San Francisco while attending the American Public Transportation Association conference. The approach aims to establish a stable base of government support that can attract private investors to finance the remaining costs as the project advances. Industry partners see several revenue opportunities, including ticket sales and commercializing long corridors of railway rights-of-way. "There are significant ways to monetize (and) commercialize long linear rights of way," said Sia Kusha, senior vice president of Plenary Americas, which has experience in public-private infrastructure projects. Another option presented by former chair of the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association Dan Richard was the possibility of auctioning operational rights for the Central Valley segment after attracting an initial customer base—a strategy that has precedent in Japan's Shinkansen rail privatization, the Chronicle reported. What People Are Saying U.S. High Speed Rail Association former chair Dan Richard said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle: "There's always been a desire to have the private sector involved at the right time, when the risk is understood." In a recent statement, the California High-Speed Rail Authority said: "Construction progresses every day on the California high-speed rail project. In addition to continued progress across the Central Valley, the Authority also announced the completion of four grade separations at Fargo Avenue and Whitley Avenue in Kings County, and at Belmont Avenue and Central Avenue in Fresno County... "Since the start of high-speed rail construction, the project has created more than 15,300 good paying construction jobs, a majority going to residents of the Central Valley. As many as 1,700 workers are dispatched to a high-speed rail construction site daily." What Happens Next The rail project is moving into its tracklaying phase this year, following the completion of most of its central infrastructure, Newsweek reported previously.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ted Cruz says he's investigating California's High-Speed Rail; this is what he's done
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says he has been investigating the California High-Speed Rail project, accusing the nation's first publicly funded high-speed rail system of wasting taxpayer money and its governing board of a lack of transparency regarding costs. The comments were made by Cruz on social media Tuesday in response to President Donald Trump's announcement that he would be launching his own investigation into the project. What Trump's investigation would entail remains to be seen, but the president said earlier this week that tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency would not be leading the effort. As for the extent of Cruz's investigation so far, CAHSR officials said, he has sent a letter. The letter, which was sent May 29, 2024, was provided to KTLA upon request to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. It was also shared on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation website. Addressed to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Cruz, acting in the capacity as ranking member of the Committee, questioned why the Biden Administration continued to grant the project federal funding, despite questions about its viability. 'DOT itself states that its project review process must 'help ensure that taxpayers are getting the highest value for every dollar invested,'' the letter reads. 'It is unclear if DOT complied with its own guidance to safeguard taxpayer dollars when selecting [CAHSR] for such a large amount of grant funding.' Plan to connect CA's 2 high-speed rail projects moves forward Cruz, as well as the letter's co-author, Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, also questioned whether other 'effective and worthy projects' may have lost out on grant funding that was ultimately awarded to the California project. The letter concludes with a request for Buttigieg to appear for an in-person briefing with the Committee to provide justification for awarding the project the federal funds and discuss, among other things, how the Department of Transportation evaluated the challenges facing the project, and the existing funding gap and projected ridership for the 'initial operating segment' between Merced and Bakersfield. The Department of Transportation was also requested to provide documents related to the CAHSR grant application process. On Thursday, CAHSR officials confirmed that the requested meeting had been scheduled to take place in October 2024 but was canceled. It was never rescheduled. That, officials said, is the extent of the Authority's communication with Cruz. KTLA reached out to Cruz's office regarding the canceled meeting and whether anything else of material in his self-described investigation has happened since then. That request was not returned prior to the publishing of this story. It's unclear if Cruz plans to take additional steps to audit the California High-Speed Rail in the future, or if his comments were, as suggested by an industry professional who spoke to KTLA off the record, an act of political theater. What's the difference between CA's 2 high-speed rail projects? In the wake of Trump's comments regarding his own investigation into what he referred to as 'the worst managed project' he'd ever seen, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has pushed back on the notion that the project has little to show for what has been spent so far. Dozens of large structures in the Central Valley have been completed or are under currently construction, utility lines have been relocated, vast swaths of land have been purchased to accommodate the train's route and the entire system segment from San Francisco to Los Angeles has obtained environmental clearance. The Authority is also in the process of acquiring its first sets of high-speed trains. Officials said earlier this week that, so far, about $13 billion has been spent on the project so far, with $10.5 billion paid for exclusively by the State of California. 'Those expenditures have created over $22 billion in economic impact,' they said. Still, the cost of completing the nation's first true high-speed electric train system in a timely manner remains front of mind for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Last week, new CEO Ian Choudri spoke at an industry forum to discuss the project, calling it not just a transportation project but a 'catalyst for economic growth and prosperity in the regions that are being connected.' Millions of California drivers could have vehicles not safe for the road As the Authority's new CEO, Choudri says he's overseen a reorganization that he hopes will streamline operations and improve efficiency and, ideally, acquire future funding on a consistent basis, not 'stop-and-go' funding like in years past. He said the Authority was committed to ensuring the system gets completed, now hoping it can be delivered 'sooner, faster.' 'We want to make sure it's clear that we are committed to connect the Bay Area to Los Angeles; that is the goal,' Choudri said. 'And we are not moving away from that while working to deliver useful segments that we are doing right now in the Central Valley to the public at a lower cost and on a faster timeline.' To track current construction progress on the California High-Speed Rail yourself, officials say you can visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump puts California High-Speed Rail in crosshairs
President Donald Trump has renewed his efforts to stifle California's High-Speed Rail project that is currently under construction and would link the Bay Area with greater Los Angeles. On Tuesday, as he addressed media in the Oval Office, Trump called the project the 'worst managed project I think I've ever seen,' and said he would be personally investigating the project's funding. It's the latest effort from the Trump Administration to target California's ambitious transit plan, which is the first publicly funded true high-speed rail system in the nation. California High-Speed Rail names new CEO During his first term, he canceled a nearly $1 billion federal grant to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which he said failed to make meaningful construction progress. President Joe Biden ultimately reinstated that funding, and continued to award more transportation grants to the Authority throughout his presidency. During his comments to media this week, Trump called the project's budget overruns the 'worst' in the nation's history, incorrectly claiming it was 'hundreds of billions of dollars over budget.' In a statement released to KTLA Wednesday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority refuted the president's claims and said his estimates were wildly overblown. 'Of approximately $13 billion spent on the project, $10.5 billion have been funded exclusively by the State of California (not hundreds of billions) and those expenditures have created over $22 billion in economic impact,' the statement reads in part. 'Every dollar of the project is accounted for and has been thoroughly reviewed by the independent Office of the Inspector General [whose] sole focus is improving oversight and accountability of the California high-speed rail project.' California one step closer to acquiring nation's first 220 mph trains While seemingly an obvious task for the Department of Government Efficiency, the temporary government organization meant to sniff out government waste that's headed by tech billionaire and outspoken CAHSR opponent Elon Musk, Trump said he himself would look into the project to determine what's taking the project so long to get off the ground. Currently, about 171 miles of the system in the Central Valley are under design and construction with marked progress made between Merced and Bakersfield in the form of new bridges, land acquisition and utility relocation. While tracks have not yet been laid, dozens of structures have been completed with many more currently underway. While Trump and other detractors still think the project should be stopped in its tracks, industry experts say one of the main reasons for the sluggish timeline and rising costs is due to constant legal challenges and objections from those who would prefer not a single mile of track be laid. CAHSR officials have repeatedly stated that the project has reached a 'point of no return' and will be completed at some point. But delays in construction, whether due to court challenges or withheld funding, only make the project more expensive. As a result, government watchdog efforts to curb spending might unintentionally have the opposite effect. What's the difference between California's 2 high-speed rail projects? As of today, the California High-Speed Rail is still moving forward with its plan to begin service on its 'initial operating segment' between Merced and Bakersfield in the early 2030s. And while the President incorrectly claimed Tuesday that the project itself had abandoned the San Francisco to L.A. route in favor of a pared down version of the system, CAHSR officials say the original plan remains unchanged. 'The majority of the approximately 500-mile system from San Francisco to Los Angeles is fully environmentally cleared and stand shovel-ready for future phases of investment to complete a high-speed rail system that embodies the very best of what California represents – a willingness to dream big, to take on challenges, and to lead the way for the rest of the nation and the world,' the CAHSR statement concluded. To track current construction progress on the California High-Speed Rail yourself, officials say you can visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
