On Friday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) announced that the deadline for the completion of the first stretch of track would be delayed by at least a year.
The high-speed rail network, which was passed as AB 3034 in 2008 in the state legislature, initially set a 2028 San Francisco to Los Angeles opening date with a cost at $40 billion. By 2013 costs soared to $98 billion, but that price tag forced some serious cost-cutting back down to $68 billion. In 2018, the cost had creeped back up to $77 billion, with the start date pushed back to the 2030’s for San Francisco to LA service. In it’s place was a more modest 2022 goal to connect Bakersfield to Merced, with that segment being priced at $12.4 billion alone. But due to more track delays, COVID-19, a deference of funds, and a Madera bridge being built wrong, the completion date is now scheduled for 2023.
The most recent delay was announced despite the shortened route goal of Merced to the city of Madera, and costs jumping up from $12.4 billion to $13.8 billion.
In 2013, the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown passed legislation to approve the first $6 billion segment of high-speed rail tracks. This first segment started with a $1.5 billion leg from Madera to Fresno in the Central Valley.
As billions in federal funding are tied to a 2022 deadline, the CHSRA put in a request for an extended deadline. While full details are to be announced during a CHSRA board meeting on Tuesday, CHSRA CEO Brian Kelly stated on Friday stated that COVID-19 is largely to blame for the delays and that he hopes to get get more federal support.
“The High-Speed Rail Authority has not been spared nor is it alone in being impacted by COVID-19,” said Kelly in a statement on Friday. “We have commenced conversations with the Biden Administration on these matters. Because the project is advancing, as noted below, we believe we can work with our federal partner on our revised schedule and restore federal investment in this program.” read more
California SHOULD HAVE invested in WATER MANAGEMENT and FOREST FIRE CONTROL.
But no.
The incompetent Democrats WASTED billions and billions of dollars on a rail system that likely will never be completed.
Or much used.
I can’t wait for the opportunity to fly or drive to Merced so I can take the train to… Madera??? WTH is Madera? I’ve never heard of it.
50 miles of emptiness and it costs $13B, can’t imagine L.A. to SF costing anything less than 10x per mile in the congested areas.
Doesn’t Pretendident Buck Fiden (Nice nick BTW) want to model America after California?
Seeing the train wreck reminds me of the clown show a/k/a the trial of the Nasty Piglosy impeachment.f President Trump. So, since it is not constitutional to impeach a former President who cannot be removed form an office he no longer holds, maybe they shouldn’t have stolen the election.
“The incompetent Democrats WASTED billions and billions of dollars”
It wasn’t WASTED, it’s in somebody’s pocket.
When they finally get it finished, watch the maiden run manage to throw a spark and ignite nearby grass and weeds alongside the tracks which then starts a forest fire that destroys not only the completed rail system, making it useless, but also burns down half of California.
You cannot spend your way out of bankruptcy. California should not take on any more debt until the state is fiscally solvent. That includes Public Employee Pensions they seem to forget when claiming to be solvent.
“California should not take on any more debt until the state is fiscally solvent.”
So should the United States, but it’s not likely to happen.
Our entire economic and monetary system is based on debt, get rid of debt and those go away too.
The WWII generation built an entire nationwide Interstate Highway system in less time than it took for their ever so superior offspring to maybe complete a section of rail from Nowhere California to Wheresthat, California
Oh, and they managed to pay down the debt from waging WWII at the same time .. the bufoons
ILLEGAL FOREIGN INVADERS will save the day!!! 🤪🤪🤪
High Speed Rail is a faster cluck since jet air travel.
Massive boondoggle going nowhere fast. As expected.
California is trying to figure out how to replace all that money that has been siphoned off and stuffed into the pockets of the politicians.