SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced the Biden Administration is awarding $6 billion to California for two high-speed rail systems.
$3.1 billion of the funding will go to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, whose system will eventually connect Los Angeles, the Central Valley and San Francisco.
The other half of the funding, about $3 billion, will go toward the rail project Brightline, to connect Los Angeles with Las Vegas — with 80% of the project's construction in California set to benefit the state's economy.
The announcement comes ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games planned for Los Angeles.
Newsom and California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Brian Kelly say the CA High-Speed Rail Authority's project has created some 12,000 union jobs and will provide affordable transportation.
“California is delivering on the first 220-mph, electric high-speed rail project in the nation,” Newsom said. “This show of support from the Biden-Harris Administration is a vote of confidence in today’s vision and comes at a critical turning point, providing the project new momentum.”
"High-speed rail (is) happening," Kelly said. "We're building 119 miles in construction today, right now in the Central Valley. This Governor has proposed to take that 119 and extend it to 171 miles, so we're connecting the cities of Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield - all one operating line; all high-speed, electric rail. And this grant says, 'Go forward with that.' That's huge."
This newly announced federal grant - the largest single grant in the CA High-Speed Rail Authority's project history - will go toward purchasing trains and constructing the Fresno train station, among other expenses.
California high-speed rail projects history
The California High-Speed Rail Authority was established in 1996 after the High-Speed Rail Development Act of 1994 led to the state being identified as one of five corridors nationwide fit for high-speed rail planning.
California voters first gave their blessing in 2008 for a 500-mile project between Los Angeles and San Francisco that would establish a fully-electric train capable of traveling three hours one way.
The projected cost at the time was about $30 billion with a 2020 launch date, according to the Associated Press, but projected costs have since ballooned to more than $100 billion.
As CalMatters wrote in an article last year, “slow land purchases, delays in environmental documents, employee turnover and litigation over the last 14 years keep putting the goal further out of reach.”
However, Kelly said the Authority has kicked the project into high-gear this year, completing 10 structures along the route in 2023, getting their environmental documents in order and aggressively pursuing funding, including this newly announced $3.1 billion grant from the federal government.
"My goal since I got here was to make sure that we were performing in a way where we can even ask for money, and we've achieved that," said Kelly, who was selected as CEO in Jan. 2018 by the CA High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors. "Because we've been performing and hitting certain milestones, this grant is an expression of confidence in what we've done and what we can do, and it's a big deal for us."
Phase 1 of the CA High-Speed Rail Authority's project is set to connect Los Angeles, the Central Valley and San Francisco. The $3.1 billion federal dollars will be used for the Central Valley stretch connecting Bakersfield, Fresno and Merced.
That Central Valley portion of High-Speed Rail is set to open between 2030 and 2032, Kelly said.
Phase 2 involves extending the line south to San Diego and northeast to Sacramento. Funding is not yet allocated for that part of the project.
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