California's high-speed rail project is $7 billion short of what it needs to finish the underway Central Valley segment, jeopardizing its completion, according to Helen Kerstein, principal fiscal and policy analyst for the state Legislative Analyst Office.
The project has come under fire from President Trump; and in February, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy
The authority has secured around $7.2 billion in federal grants since 2009, including a
The project would need to close the
"There is currently no specific plan to address the $7 billion gap, and we think there is a risk that gap could grow given inflationary pressures and the risk to federal funding," Kerstein said in her report on Wednesday to an Assembly budget subcommittee. "We know the authority's CEO is trying to reduce costs, but that is an ongoing process."
State law requires the High Speed Rail Authority to prepare a project update report by March 1 of every odd year. The authority released its most recent PUR on March 1, but it was lacking in detail, serving more as a placeholder to meet the constitutional requirement, with the full report expected in August, said Assemblymember Steve Bennett, D-Ventura, who chairs the committee.
Though technically the rail authority would need to come up with a solution by next summer, Kerstein noted lawmakers are working on the fiscal 2025-26 budget that has to be signed by the governor on July 1 — before the final report will arrive. And that budget will determine how much money will be available for the project next summer, she said.
It's not just federal grant money that is threatened. Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, introduced Assembly Bill 267 in January that would redirect the $1 billion of cap-and-trade funding from high-speed rail to wildfire prevention and water infrastructure projects.
The project is "over budget and behind schedule," Macedo said in a statement Thursday. "It's time for Gov. Gavin Newsom to prioritize wildfire victims and residents of rural communities over the mismanaged high-speed rail project."
The project's estimated cost to build rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco when it was launched in 2008 was $34 billion, since then estimates have soared to between $100 billion to $128 billion. The authority said it has spent $13.3 billion on it so far.
"Voters have been hoodwinked by the High Speed Rail Authority's smoke and mirrors," Macedo said. "It is time to put taxpayers' monies to better use."
Ian Choudri, who was appointed the authority's chief executive in September 2024, is reviewing the entire project to realize cost efficiencies and explore public-private partnerships, Mark Tollefson, the authority's chief of staff said during the hearing.
Though the full report won't be complete until August, Tollefson said they would try to get financial information to lawmakers as it becomes available.
