California High-Speed Rail

With costs rising from $40 billion to $105 billion, the California High-Speed Rail project is still moving slowly along, though with a heftier price tag.

February 14, 2022 - Roads and Bridges

Experts attribute the high cost of the project to local opposition and call on state and federal leaders to give transportation agencies more authority over local jurisdictions.

January 24, 2022 - San Diego Union-Tribune

Most major infrastructure projects fail to meet projected timelines or budgets. Some experts say this is a structural flaw built into "systematically deceptive" estimate practices.

December 2, 2021 - The New York Times

If state lawmakers can agree to support matching funds for the project, California's high-speed rail could compete for $36 billion in new federal grants.

November 11, 2021 - Streetsblog California

State legislators' refusal to pass HSR funding will return hundreds of millions slated for active transportation and other projects to the state's general fund.

September 20, 2021 - Streetsblog California

Voters approved a $9.9 billion bond for the California High Speed Rail project in 2008. State legislators would like that money to be spent in other ways in 2021.

September 10, 2021 - Sacramento Bee

The cost increases and delays on the Central Valley project have some state lawmakers wondering whether funds should go toward local transit systems instead.

August 3, 2021 - CALmatters

With a train-friendly administration in Washington, supporters of the project hope that state leaders will make a stronger commitment to funding the full project.

March 21, 2021 - Streetsblog California

The "American High-Speed Rail Act" would provide $41 billion in grants and incentives for an additional $38 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects in the United States.

March 18, 2021 - Smart Cities Dive

State lawmakers will have to approve a change in plans for how the California High-Speed Rail project will fund the ongoing work in the Central Valley.

February 12, 2021 - The Mercury News

Issues of track blending and electrification factor heavily in the latest environmental impact report and environmental impact statement released last week for the California High-Speed Rail project.

July 13, 2020 - California High-Speed Rail Authority

Beginning with Japan in the 1960s, more and more countries are embracing high-speed trains to streamline domestic travel. Operating at speeds often in excess of 160 mph, high-speed rail networks are now well-developed across Europe and, more recently, in China.

March 23, 2020 - Philip Rojc

Improvements to the commuter rail connections between Los Angeles and Orange counties are among the possibilities for the future of rail planning in California as uncertainty about high-speed rail continues.

October 26, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

The beleaguered plan to build a bullet train to connect Northern California and Southern California suffered a public relations setback last month when it was revealed that a boardmember was under investigation for a conflict of interest.

October 13, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

A new proposal for building high-speed rail in California would refocus funding to the urban ends of the complete, state route, by funding rail improvements first in Southern California.

August 5, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Carlos Aguilar, Texas Central president and CEO, comments on the changes to the San Francisco-to-Anaheim project announced last month by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and why his project linking Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth will progress.

March 5, 2019 - Texas Central

The beleaguered project is still very much alive, despite some media claims to the contrary. As for the Trump administration's claim to two grants awarded to the now-$77 billion project, the state has a deadline to meet if it wants to keep them.

March 4, 2019 - Capital Public Radio

Even as prospects for high-speed trains dim in California, San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center has already spurred a development spree in the surrounding area.

March 2, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Trump administration has canceled a nearly $1 billion grant assigned to the California high-speed rail project and is attempting to get the state to return the $2.5 billion it has already spent on the $77 billion project.

February 21, 2019 - The New York Times

A San Francisco Chronicle editorial warns that San Francisco must find funds, intended to come from the state's ambitious rail project, to extend the Caltrain commuter rail line to the SalesForce Transit Center.

February 16, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle