The California High-Speed Rail has received its biggest boost from the federal government yet, being awarded more than $3 billion in grant funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The announcement was made Tuesday and was confirmed by California Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
“California takes great pride in our ambitious status as the leading edge of high-speed rail in America,” Pelosi said on X, previously Twitter. “With $3 billion in new federal funding, we take an important leap closer to making high-speed rail a reality in California.”
The grant is the largest chunk of federal funding the California High-Speed Rail Authority has been awarded since the state’s most ambitious public transportation project was approved by voters in 2008.
Construction work has been chugging along steadily in the Central Valley, as crews construct the first portion of the California High-Speed Rail, which is being referred to as the “initial operating segment.” The initial operating segment will connect Merced to Bakersfield along a 171-mile electrified track when it begins service sometime around 2030.
The federal grant funding is expected to be used to help complete this initial segment of the system, as well as help pay for the high-speed electric trainsets that will one day complete a full 500-mile journey between the Bay Area and the greater Los Angeles area.
The High-Speed Rail Authority expects that portion of the system, identified as “Phase 1,” to begin operation sometime in the 2030s. Eventually, the Authority plans to expand the system to more than 800 miles between Sacramento and San Diego as part of “Phase 2.”
Momentum for the high-speed rail has been building in recent months, with several major infrastructure projects completed in the Central Valley. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration awarded the High-Speed Rail Authority a $200 million grant, which was one of the largest pieces of federal funding support awarded to the project in its history.
Despite opposition from some Republicans in Congress, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has been the benefactor of two major supporters of clean energy and passenger rail.
Earlier in October, California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote a letter to President Joe Biden, thanking him for his continued support of California’s clean energy initiatives and urged him to approve the federal grant application to help complete the initial operating segment.
Biden has previously shown support for California high-speed rail, restoring a nearly $1 billion grant to the High-Speed Rail Authority in 2021 that had been blocked by the Trump Administration.
Perhaps the most well-known supporter of passenger rail, Biden has long advocated for Amtrak funding and was a regular rider during his time in the Senate, earning him the nickname “Amtrak Joe.”
Federal support for America’s passenger rail systems was a key component of the president’s landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
CAHSR officials have said some of the money from this grant could also be used to complete geotechnical work required to begin tunnelling through the mountains in Southern California, which would need to be completed to make the Bay Area to L.A. a reality. That portion of the system will be among the most expensive and challenging endeavors the project will face.
The Biden Administration began Tuesday by doling out massive amounts of grant funding to public transportation projects across the country, including a similar electric high-speed rail project in Southern California.
Brightline West will connect Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga along the the 15 Freeway corridor. That project was awarded about $3 billion in grant funding, but is a private endeavor and is expected to cost about $12 billion, with the rest of the cost privately financed.
As of August 2023, the California High-Speed Rail says it has completed 43 structures, started work on 32 more and completed 53 miles of guideway. Work is beginning to expand from the current 119 miles of active construction to the full 171 of double-track electrified rail that will comprise the initial operating segment.
High-Speed Rail officials say almost all of the major environmental reviews throughout the system have been completed, with the main outlier being the segment between Palmdale and Burbank. Officials expect to have that completed in the coming months, with the Anaheim segment to receive clearance around 2025.