Trump Administration Pulled $4 Billion From California Rail as Train Contract Missed 2 Deadlines
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Aug 2
Trump Administration Pulled $4 Billion From California Rail as Train Contract Missed 2 Deadlines
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Aug 2
Summary
$4 billion in federal funding was withdrawn after California's High-Speed Rail Authority missed a Dec. 31, 2024 train-procurement deadline and still lists the award date as TBD more than 18 months later.
Federal officials said buying the trains was a critical grant milestone and, after the missed deadline, concluded there was no viable path to finish the 171-mile Merced-Bakersfield segment on time.
California then missed a second deadline it gave a federal judge — Dec. 1, 2025 — before quietly dropping its lawsuit challenging the funding cut days before Christmas.
The delay squeezes a roughly four-year manufacturing timeline: a 2026 contract would push first train deliveries to about 2030, leaving only around two years for testing before the state's 2032-2033 service target.
The project has spent $15 billion over 16 years, has not yet laid high-speed rail track, and faces renewed scrutiny over management, transparency and whether the scaled-back line can meet promises made to voters.