Newsom, legislative leaders reach deal to fund high speed rail with ‘historic’ $20 billion over 20 years

Gov Gavin Newsom and California legislative leaders on Thursday publicized a deal to fund the state s beleaguered bullet train project with billion annually over the next years The funds should the full Legislature sign off on them would be enough to complete the initial -mile stretch underway in the Central Valley but not enough to build out to population centers in the north and south let alone complete the entire San Francisco to Los Angeles rail line Even so California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri called it a historic commitment of the largest guaranteed infusion of funding for California s high-speed rail initiative to date This funding agreement resolves all identified funding gaps for the Early Operating Segment in the Central Valley and opens the door for meaningful public-private engagement with the undertaking Choudri stated in a message We must also work toward securing the long-term funding beyond the present day s commitment that can bring high-speed rail to California s population centers where ridership and revenue progress will in turn patronage future expansions Related Articles California-to-Vegas train eyes equity debt to raise cash Letters What private investor would put money into high-speed rail Trump cuts million from California high-speed rail projects Congressional committee launches inspection into California s high-speed rail project California high speed rail Central Valley line alone won t be profitable Building to Gilroy could be The rail authority plans to borrow against the future funding guarantee to finance the rest of construction on the road between Merced and Bakersfield which is set to be completed by Since the rail authority has been focused on building out that stretch alone which is now estimated to cost a total of billion That s higher than the billion price tag for the completed San Francisco-Los Angeles line that voters signed off on when they approved the initial billion bond in The Legislature and Newsom directed the rail authority to focus on the Central Valley as the initial operating segment in as the costs and timelines swelled for the full project between San Francisco and Los Angeles Now it s unclear when or if the entire line will be built Since he took the helm of the rail authority last year Choudri has pushed to build beyond the Central Valley as briskly as manageable extending the line to population centers Gilroy in Northern California and Palmdale in Southern California which connect via local rail to San Francisco and Los Angeles Operating in the Central Valley alone the rail line is not expected to be profitable according to a overview distributed last month by the rail authority Building to Gilroy and Palmdale at the same time as the Central Valley segment could generate enough profits to pay back the private investors that Choudri is targeting But completing the longer journey would require more funds than the billion committed as well as the Legislature s approval to modify the scope of the initial operating segment Already getting just billion a year for high speed rail was a delicate matter in a contentious deal to extend the state s cap-and-trade initiative in which companies bid over credits that allow them to emit greenhouse gases The scheme s revenues which have hovered around billion annually in contemporary years go to assistance population transit wildfire prevention and housing in addition to the high speed rail Newsom had been pressing lawmakers to expand the effort through After weeks of secret negotiations he reached a deal with lawmakers disclosed early Wednesday morning Still it s not a done deal until lawmakers vote on the reauthorization plan this coming Saturday Republicans have criticized the project as a boondoggle whose funding could better be spent elsewhere Rep Kevin Kiley a Rocklin Republican touted Congress cutting of its federal funding in July The High-Speed Rail Authority is now claiming it s made substantial progress to deliver high-speed rail in California ' Kiley commented in a July social media post In fact there has not been an inch of track laid in years High-speed rail proponents like Sen Dave Cortese a San Jose Democrat are encouraging fellow lawmakers to sign off on the plan For too long critics have tried to write the obituary for High-Speed Rail Cortese stated in a declaration But we ve kept pushing and now we have a long-term commitment that will create jobs cut waste and revitalize communities up and down the state The Legislature must act fast to pass this plan and keep California on track to deliver America s first true high-speed rail