“We identified out of the infrastructure bill six different programs that we can compete in for different project elements,” Kelly told Forbes. While the Build Back Better infrastructure money was never approved, there’s a pool of other new federal money California can tap for future needs. The California project, which estimates travel time between San Francisco and Los Angeles will be less than three hours, also receives about $1 billion annually from the state’s Cap and Trade program, a de facto carbon tax on major emitters of greenhouse gasses. Longtime train commuter President Joe Biden restored those funds in 2021 and wants more bullet-train projects, both for the jobs they’ll generate and to help cut climate-warming emissions from cars. It’s a big shift from a few years ago when then President Donald Trump withheld $929 million of federal funds awarded years earlier and threatened to claw back $2.5 billion doled out by the Obama Administration. That victory and recent funding developments give the train a degree of stability for the time being. It’s “the most transformative project our nation has seen in almost 75 years.”Įxecutive Director Karen Philbrick, Mineta Transportation InstituteĬalifornia’s Court of Appeals ruled against Flashman late last year, allowing construction to continue. “My clients don’t feel it’s ever going to result in a viable high-speed rail line.” “This is an enormous waste of money,” said Oakland-based attorney Stu Flashman, who sued to block funding for the train’s first phase, arguing it violated the state’s constitution. Where Philbrick sees opportunity, critics see a boondoggle.
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