California High-Speed Rail

Nothing comes easy for high-speed rail, or anything connected to it, as the agency that runs Caltrain learned in February. But now that a $647 million federal grant has been approved, $713 million in state bond funds will be directed to the project.

June 2, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

In one of her first major decisions, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao deferred a decision on a critical $647 million federal grant to electrify the 51-mile San Francisco to San Jose Caltrain line, which would also be used by high-speed rail.

February 21, 2017 - SF Gate

In spite of a host of problems, over 1,000 parcels have been acquired and construction is occurring in nine areas in the Central Valley, centering on Fresno. Limited service from San Francisco to Bakersfield could begin in 2025.

February 17, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

California's GOP congressional delegation has written the U.S. DOT asking them to delay a vital $647 million grant needed to electrify the 55-mile, San Francisco-to-San Jose commuter line on which 92 diesel-powered commuter trains operate daily.

February 13, 2017 - The Mercury News

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has taken the first official step to find a train operator for the initial operating segment of the 800-mile project: connecting the Central Valley to the Silicon Valley, with estimated completion by 2024.

December 26, 2016 - Progressive Railroading

The California High-Speed Rail Authority voted on December 13 to approve two plans that would spend $3.2 billion in high-speed rail bond funds for continuing construction in the Central Valley and help pay for Caltrain commuter rail electrification.

December 15, 2016 - The Fresno Bee

One of the major critics of the $64 billion project that would link Los Angeles and San Francisco just became a supporter, and that's really good news considering the project's major booster, Gov. Jerry Brown, will be leaving office in two years.

October 24, 2016 - The Associated Press

It's becoming clear that Texas will beat California to having the first all high-speed train on the continent. Ethan Elkind suggests three ways that success for Texas Central's Dallas-to-Houston line will benefit the struggling California project.

September 12, 2016 - Ethan Elkind

A California initiative has been likened to the landmark Proposition 13 for how it would affect the budget and major projects proposed in California, including the $64 billion high-speed rail project and $17 billion Delta water tunnels.

July 6, 2016 - San Jose Mercury News

As a result of a critical lawsuit that California high-speed rail opponents lost last March, a bill to release $1.1 billion in 2008 bond funds has been advanced to fund high-speed rail 'bookend' projects, particularly Caltrain electrification.

June 26, 2016 - Associated Press

'Huge' is an understatement. Revenues were less than 2 percent of what was forecasted. The uncertainty of the continuance of the program may be responsible. The plummet in revenues to high-speed rail adds to uncertainty of the $64 billion project.

May 28, 2016 - The Sacramento Bee

PBS kicks off its new science and technology series with a look at just what happened in the desert with MIT's Hyperloop team. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien likens the week's events more to the "glider moment" preceding Kitty Hawk.

May 13, 2016 - PBS NewsHour

Uncertainty as to whether cap-and-trade funding would continue past 2020 and opposition to the initial operating segment leaving out the city of Merced were two issues that arose during a Assembly Transportation Committee hearing of the plan.

March 30, 2016 - Fresno Bee

Don't tell that to the 18,000 residents of Shafter. However, the Legislative Analyst's Office made clear in its March 17 report that it questioned having the southern end of the first operating segment located "in an unpopulated agricultural area."

March 21, 2016 - Silicon Valley Business Journal

The lawsuit by Kings County et.al. was a significant threat to California's $64 billion rail plan, based on the plan's ability to meet the terms promised in the 2008 proposition, such as travel time due to sharing tracks with Caltrain.

March 9, 2016 - The Fresno Bee

In the face of political opposition and mounting construction costs in Southern California, the state High-Speed Rail Authority has chosen to build north from the Central Valley to San Jose rather than south from Fresno to the San Fernando Valley.

February 22, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

In his 2015 state of the state address, Gov. Jerry Brown announced his intention to tackle the Golden State's formidable $59 billion road and bridge deficit. A year later, that staggering figure jumped 30 percent to $77 billion.

January 24, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bereft of private investment, how can the $68 billion project proceed? That's the question about 20 members of the public repeated in their public comments at Tuesday's High-Speed Rail Authority meeting in Fresno. To their surprise, it was answered.

November 20, 2015 - Fresno Bee

At the heart of the financial and deadline challenges facing the $68 billion high-speed rail project are 36 miles of tunneling north of Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles Times analysis that includes interviews with experts on mega-projects.

October 28, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

The China Railway International Group, working with the Chinese Export-Import Bank, responded to the California High-Speed Rail Authority's "expressions of interest." They teamed up with China Development Bank to beat out the Japanese in Indonesia.

October 18, 2015 - Reuters