SACRAMENTO — California officials on Tuesday moved toward awarding a $1.65 billion contract to design and construct the tracks and system in the central San Joaquin Valley for the first segment of its beleaguered high-speed rail project. The action taken by the California High-Speed Rail Authority's board of directors was...
Bringing High-Speed Rail to California, One Building Block at a Time
California has long been the leader in innovation, bold action and tackling projects that others wouldn’t dream of. The state highway system, BART, and the Golden Gate Bridge stand out as prime examples of challenging projects that were seen through, and today benefit millions. The vision for high-speed rail is...
Patterson Inquiry Triggers Suspension of Bullet Train Consultant
A state watchdog agency is reviewing a complaint filed by Assemblyman Jim Patterson of Fresno against the top consultant on the California bullet train project. In addition, the consultant’s company has suspended him because of the probe, The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. Questions About $51 Million Change Order Roy...
Walters: Trump Doing California a Bullet Train Favor
At last count, California’s Democratic political leadership had filed four dozen lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration, reflecting differences on policies large and small. For the most part, California’s legal allegations have been on target. However, Trump is on solid legal and logical ground in the latest conflict over the...
California Sues Over $1 Billion in Canceled High-Speed Rail Money
SACRAMENTO — California sued Tuesday to block the Trump administration from canceling nearly $1 billion for the state's high-speed rail project, escalating the state's feud with the federal government. The Federal Railroad Administration announced last week it would not give California the money awarded by Congress nearly a decade ago,...
Trump Administration Cancels $1 Billion for Bullet Train
SACRAMENTO — The Trump administration canceled nearly $1 billion Thursday in federal money for California's high-speed rail project, further throwing into question the future of the ambitious plan to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. California Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately pledged to take the administration to court. "The Trump Administration's...
Gov. Newsom Is Shrinking Jerry Brown’s Pet Projects
When Jerry Brown began his first governorship in 1975, he quickly set himself apart from his father, former Gov. Pat Brown. The elder Brown’s legacy had been an immense expansion of the state’s public-works infrastructure—new colleges and universities, a web of freeways and, most of all, a massive project to...
High-Speed Rail Cost Jumps to $20.4B for Central Valley Segment
SACRAMENTO — The state's reworked plan for high-speed rail now estimates a $20.4 billion price tag to complete 171 miles of track from Merced to Bakersfield by 2028, nearly a decade later than the initial estimate for a much longer Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line. Rail officials issued an update to...
Walters: Three Months in, Newsom Has Only Tepid Approval
Gavin Newsom coasted into the governorship last year, defeating his Republican rival by more than a 3-2 margin. It seems a little odd, therefore, that three months into his governorship, he enjoys only tepid popular support. A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that just 45...
Why Gavin Newsom Is No Fan of High-Speed Rail
How will California ever finish high-speed rail when it can’t finish San Francisco’s Downtown Rail Extension? Twenty-three years ago, a restauranteur named Gavin Newsom was appointed to his first political gig, as a San Francisco parking-and-traffic commissioner. Back then, a top priority of San Francisco transportation officials was a proposed...