CA HSR Authority

The non-partisan Legislative Analyst pulled no punches. To proceed with the project without more funding and environmental clearances would violate the authorizing ballot proposition and endanger funding for all other state needs, including education

The new $98 billion price tag and 2033 completion date in the revised HSR Authority's business plan applies to the first phase, meaning that the extensions to San Diego and Sacramento will take even longer, leaving some San Diegan leaders seething.

With its revised business plan released Nov. 1 showing a dramatic increase in costs and time to build the 800 mile system, the Authority adopted its funding plan to a largely skeptical audience, many from the Central Valley where construction begins.

According to preliminary reports on the new business plan, the California High Speed Rail Authority's new estimate for the 800-mile system will be $98.5 billion - initially pegged at $43 billion, and will take an additional 13 years to build.

That's the verdict from a report released April 22 by officials of Caltrain, the nearly 150-year-old commuter line connecting San Francisco, San Jose, and Peninsula suburbs. In turn, the key to electrification is cooperation with the CA HSR Authority

A huge boost for the CA High Speed Rail project will result from an injection of $2.25 billion from President Obama's $8 billion HSR stimulus funds, twice as much as any other project.

A Sacramento judge has ruled that the environmental review for California's high-speed rail has failed to fully account for right-of-way delays involving Union Pacific trains.

Notwithstanding a $24.3 billion state budget deficit, CA is well-positioned to receive at least 10% of the Recovery Act funding for high speed rail, says Biden. Two corridors in southern and northern CA have been identified for funding.