California’s High-Speed Rail Project to Cost Nearly $10 Billion More

Officials at the agency say that California’s delayed high speed rail system is going to be more costly to build than originally planned. This is due both to high inflation, and supply chain problems.PDFThis week:

According to a March 1, report by the California High Speed Rail Authority, the cost of the bullet train could be close to $100 billion. Officials said they expected fewer people to use the 500-mile route connecting San Francisco with Los Angeles/Anaheim.

Brian Kelly, the CEO of the report, stated that the COVID-19 Pandemic had an important impact on global supply chains, market instability and inflation.

“This market instability has had a devastating effect on large infrastructure projects around the globe.”

This controversial project was criticised for its higher cost and calls for its abandonment.

Brian Jones (R-Santee), State Senate Minority Leader, said that the project will cost approximately $206.4 million per mile due to the increased budget. This is an increase of 57 percent in just one year.

“It’s high time to defund the hot mess train and put the brakes on this hot mess train. [high-speed rail],” Jones Posted Twitter March 1.

Jessica Millan Patterson, Chair, California Republican Party, condemned the project.

Patterson shared this tweet on Twitter, February 27, 2012. “Only under Democrat One-Party Rule will we continue spending BILLIONS and taxpayers’ money and push back the completion of a project which for years has made little or no progress.” “Absolutely embarrassing.”

This information is also available in the East Bay Times or San Jose Mercury News. criticized An editorial on the rail system’s delays and higher costs last month.

The reality is that this project was never feasible. It’s been 15 years since it was presented to voters. There is still no way for it to be completed. The costs keep rising and ridership projections for this system, if ever opened, are falling sharply,” reported the news agencies on February 23. Federal and state officials need to reduce their losses and stop spending money on a project that is unlikely to be completed.

More funds are needed

According to the high-speed railway agency, project officials have obtained about one-third the funds necessary for the completion of the system.

Californians approved Prop 1A in 2008, which gave the state permission to construct electrified high speed rail. The project was to be completed by 2020, and the cost would be disclosed to voters. $33 billion. Construction has not yet begun for project builders.

It is expected that the fast train will transport passengers between Los Angeles and Bay Area in just 2.5 hours using clean, environmentally-friendly energy.

The state first gave $9.95 billion to the project for construction planning and construction. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided $2.5 billion more to the agency a year later. Federal funding also provided $925 million in 2010.

The state Legislature approved in 2014 a plan to grant the project 25% of the annual proceeds of the Cap-and-Trade Program. This is a state policy to decrease greenhouse gases. It adds 23 cents to each gallon of gas.

According to the agency, the total federal and state funding for this rail project could reach $23 billion.

Federal grants totaling $1.3 billion were requested by project officials last year, but this was rejected in February. Katta Hules, spokeswoman for High Speed Rail Authority, said that the agency will continue to seek federal investment and assistance.

She stated in an email that she was optimistic about the future of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and her strong partnership with Biden-Harris. “We are still hopeful that we will receive grant funding from this Act, which has already provided us with grant funding,” she added.

Ridership drops

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Californians are less likely to use public transit. The railway may see 25% fewer passengers than originally expected. According to the agency, this is due to lower state social and economic growth.

“Preliminary ridership estimates for the future are less conservative due to stagnant population growth and revised travel behavior data. [and] Hules stated that there was a reduction in ridership for existing services.

New estimates predict that 31.3 million passengers will take the train between San Francisco and Los Angeles by 2040. This is about 7.3 million less than the previous estimates.

According to the agency, the drop was due to California’s slower economic growth and population growth. California lost another 700,000 According to Chapman University of Orange County, residents moved out of Orange County last year due to a variety reasons. These include high taxes, tough business environments, and heavy environmental regulations.

The drop was also caused by remote working and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The high-speed rail agency expects to finish the project despite the latest estimates. 171-mile segment Merced to Bakersfield by 2029

According to The Epoch Times, an assistant to the transportation committee of California State Assembly has informed The Epoch Times that a hearing was scheduled for April.