High Speed Rail Litigation

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

Plaintiffs suing the state of California over a 2016 law that allowed the High-Speed Rail Authority to tap a $9.9 billion bond measure, passed by voters a decade ago to pay for construction on "usable segments," came up short for the second time.

November 2, 2018 - The Sacramento Bee

The California high-speed rail project is not alone in confronting legal and political obstacles. The main issue in Texas that has aroused opposition to the privately financed, 240-mile Dallas to Houston bullet train is the use of eminent domain.

February 27, 2017 - The Texas Tribune

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

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

Florida's private inter-city rail project is getting a taste of California-style rail opposition from two counties that responded to citizens' complaints by voting to allot $4.1 million for potential legal action against rail line.

February 21, 2015 - The Palm Beach Post

A week after the groundbreaking ceremony for California's beleaguered high speed rail project, a second construction contract has been awarded. The rail authority will now build 29 miles north and 65 miles south of Fresno to the Kern County line.

January 16, 2015 - The Fresno Bee

The long-beleaguered California High Speed Rail project will have a historic moment today, January 6. The media's coverage of the event indicates the yet-to-be-determined future of the project.

January 6, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Faced with seven CEQA lawsuits from rail opponents threatening to delay the high-speed rail project, the California High-Speed Rail Authority sought preemption of the California environmental law. The Surface Transportation Board agreed.

December 17, 2014 - The Fresno Bee

The California Supreme Court gave a green light to the state's embattled High Speed Rail Authority to begin issuing $8.6 billion in voter-approved bonds by rejecting the appeal by Central Valley opponents of the project.

October 17, 2014 - Bay Area News Group

Notwithstanding a favorable court ruling freeing state bond funds, construction is delayed on the 800-mile project, reports Ralph Vartabedian of the LA Times. Jessica Calefati of the Mercury News writes on opponents' appeal to the state Supreme Court

September 4, 2014 - Governing

Recall that recent 'great news' for the embattled High Speed Rail Authority? The appeals court ruling breathed new life into the $68 billion project as it released the lower court's hold on $9.95 billion in bond funds. Opponents are not deterred.

August 13, 2014 - The Fresno Bee

Both sides have been awaiting this ruling, which left Gov. Jerry Brown and the High Speed Rail Authority greatly pleased: the appeals court ruling releases $9.9 billion of 2008 voter-approved bond funding, though other court battles loom.

August 1, 2014 - The Fresno Bee

No, the debilitating lawsuits haven't been resolved, so the HSR Authority still can't tap the $10 billion in voter-approved bonds, but the new state budget based on cap-and-trade revenue for HSR is sparking inquiries from private investors.

July 24, 2014 - Inside Bay Area

Seems like it's nothing but bad news for the rail authority since a judge ruled in November that the project was not in compliance with the proposition that the voters approved in 2008. This appeals court ruling means that a trial will move forward.

April 21, 2014 - The Fresno Bee

Unlike prior litigation based on environmental grounds, this suit, brought by a farmer, homeowner and the Kings County Board of Supervisors, is based on the rail project's business plan violating the bond measure the voters approved to fund it.

August 19, 2013 - Sacramento Bee

A major environmental lawsuit against the High Speed Rail Authority brought by Central Valley farmers and other parties was settled on April 18, clearing the way for initial construction to begin on the 30 mile corridor between Madera and Fresno.

April 22, 2013 - KQED

It was the first of many lawsuits to hit the HSRA. Menlo Park and Atherton, joined later by Palo Alto - three adjoining cities on the San Mateo County/Santa Clara County border, among the wealthiest in the nation, sued in 2008 to reroute the train.

March 5, 2013 - San Jose Mercury News

The California High Speed Rail Authority settled its CEQA lawsuit with the City of Chowchilla, the first of three that need to be dealt with in the Merced to Fresno section in the Central Valley where construction of the project will initially begin

February 1, 2013 - The Fresno Bee