The Trump administration is cutting billions in funding for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy formally terminated $ billion dollars in federal funding weeks after putting the bullet train project on notice.
The high-speed rail efforts began in 2009, aiming to build a train that connected Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours; however, Governor Gavin Newsom later adjusted the project to consist of a 170-mile stretch of land between Merced and Bakersfield. The project is significantly over budget and behind schedule, with cost estimates increasing from an initial $33 billion to potentially over $100 billion. Originally slated for completion by 2020, it’s now projected to be much later, with no segment fully completed yet.
President Donald Trump praised his administration’s work in terminating the project while Newsom said the state will be “exploring all options to fight this illegal action.”
