Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy this morning announced the Federal Railroad Administration would begin a compliance review of whether roughly $4 billion in taxpayer dollars should continue to be earmarked for the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
“If California wants to continue to invest, that’s fine,” Duffy said, “But we, the Trump administration, are going to take a look at whether this project is worthy of investment.”
The Los Angeles to San Francisco train was initially estimated to cost $33 billion and reach completion by 2020, according to the Department of Transportation. Currently, the Merced-to-Bakersfield section alone is estimated to cost more than the original total.
“We stand by the progress and impact of this project,” Ian Choudri, California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO, said in a Thursday statement.
“California’s high-speed rail is 171 miles under active construction, with other 50 major structures completed, 14,700 jobs created, and more than 880 small businesses engaged. This investment has already generated $22 billion in economic impact,” Choudri said.
Following Secretary Duffy’s announcement, several local and state representatives reaffirmed his position.
“California’s High-Speed Rail disaster is the worst public infrastructure failure in U.S. history,” Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley, who represents the CA-3rd District, said in a statement.
Immediately following Duffy’s statement, shouting from protestors filled the historic Union Station for the remaining 30 minutes of the news conference.