Bucking the intent of the incoming Trump administration to cut down on unnecessary expenditures, California Democrats in Congress sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging him to hurry and approve additional funding for California’s floundering high-speed rail project.
On November 30, the incoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, noted on X:
Summary of California High Speed Rail Project: Originally projected (in 2008) to cost $33 billion; now projected to cost between $88.5 and $127.9 billion. Estimated completion date was 2020; as of 2024, zero passengers have been transported and the majority has not even been fully designed. Received $6.8 billion in federal funds. Requesting $8 billion in additional federal funds.
Summary of California High Speed Rail Project:
-Originally projected (in 2008) to cost $33 billion; now projected to cost between $88.5 and $127.9 billion
-Estimated completion date was 2020; as of 2024, zero passengers have been transported and the majority has not even been…— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) November 30, 2024
Those estimates were similar to what the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The media outlet said that the cost of building California’s largely unfinished high-speed rail line — of which California Democrat governor Gavin Newsom bragged, “We’re making rail real in California” — was initially estimated at $33 billion, has now ballooned to over $100 billion.
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“On Friday, Democratic lawmakers Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, and Reps. Pete Aguilar, Jim Costa, and Zoe Lofgren sent a letter to Buttigieg calling on him to approve funding for the first phase of the project,” the Sacramento Bee reported on Monday. The letter asked for $536 million in federal funds, acknowledging, “The FSP-National grant application is part of an ongoing federal-state partnership that has provided approximately $28.8 billion in funding for California High-Speed Rail, including $22 billion from state funds and $6.8 billion from federal funds. … By preparing for future final design and construction of complex tunnels in this corridor, the Project will advance both state and federal goals to improve safety, expand economic strength and global competitiveness, address equity issues, and implement sustainability practices to confront climate change.”
“The project has struggled in recent years with obtaining federal funding, and it has been beset with both delays and cost overruns. It’s [sic] initial scope — of a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco — has been reduced to the first step of a planned route from Merced to Bakersfield,” the Bee noted.
Last week, Newsom mocked DOGE, saying of it, “I dunno, this is like a promo project.”
