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US will not pay for California high-speed
rail, Trump says

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Posted By: Dreadnought, 5/6/2025 7:29:39 PM

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government will not pay for a high-speed rail line planned between Los Angeles and San Francisco, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, citing cost overruns. The Republican president's administration in February began probing whether to rescind about $4 billion in federal funds awarded to California's High-Speed Rail project. "This government is not going to pay," Trump told reporters during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Voters approved $10 billion for the project in 2008 but the costs have risen sharply and Trump has sharply criticized the effort. The Transportation Department under former President Joe Biden awarded the project about $4 billion.

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Reply 1 - Posted by: itsonlyme 5/6/2025 7:45:01 PM (No. 1946233)
February 20, 2025 "The latest estimate for San Francisco to Los Angeles is $106 billion — more than three times the original cost estimate."
17 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: Catherine 5/6/2025 8:02:24 PM (No. 1946237)
I know, find another Biden appointed judge to say yes he will./heavy sarcasm but sadly I bet they are thinking just that.
24 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: whyyeseyec 5/6/2025 8:08:34 PM (No. 1946238)
Rueters is lying. Nothing has been built. All the money has been wasted or stolen. Should this project ever be completed, the cost will be astronomical, and the operating costs would be prohibitive (you know how this works - union workers making low 6-figure yearly salaries with all the perks, along with a Board of Crony Directors numbering in the 20 to 30 range making $250K/yr, etc) - which means the train would be subsidized yearly by CA taxpayers. Numerous articles have been written lately stating Gov Newsom is under investigation by the DOJ, (hopefully regarding to where all the money has disappeared). This project needs to die a quick death - hopefully Trump can make that happen.
30 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: JHHolliday 5/6/2025 8:36:29 PM (No. 1946244)
I was never sure why this debacle was ever needed in the first place. The fares would be unaffordable to all but the few and those travelers would likely be taking their private jets or, at the, least, flying first class. For 106 billion dollars, they could buy first class tickets for everyone in California. That said, I love the idea of lazy, luxurious train travel. You can still take a trip on the Orient Express (at an eye-watering price) or other less costly and scenic ones here and Canada through beautiful landscapes.
18 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: Ketchuplover 5/6/2025 8:44:00 PM (No. 1946248)
I hope the administration will now turn its head toward Calfornia-Wannabe-Minnesota and cut off funds for the SW Transit boondoggle line from Mpls to the suburbs.
15 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: Kafka2 5/6/2025 8:49:03 PM (No. 1946253)
This project was doomed to failure from the start. The financial viability study was pure fiction. The reason California wants the federal government to pay for it is because Californians have balked at poring any more money into this money pit. The project is the poster child for the waste that egotism and utter stupidity can produce.
18 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: FL_Absentee_Voter 5/6/2025 9:05:27 PM (No. 1946262)
#3 - Actually, there are dozens of viaducts built or being built over 2-lane country roads throughout the Central Valley, and a 120- mile path has been cleared that cuts through orchards and farmland. And that's the easy part - the real expense will be the remaining 50 miles into the urban areas at each end. Governor Moonbeam promised LA to SF by 2020 for $40 billion. It's 2025, and we're now passing $128 billion for Merced (where?) to Bakersfield - which is all the further this waste of money will ever possibly run.
12 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: voxpopuli 5/6/2025 9:52:39 PM (No. 1946274)
Don't forget the half finished Light Rail Line from Mogadapolis to the suburbs.. five BILLION already spent to ferry 25 gang members a day from Mall of America to downtown.. something like 60% is FEDERALLY funded..
13 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: earlybird 5/6/2025 10:33:51 PM (No. 1946283)
Stupid project. Drop it.
12 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: YorkieMom 5/6/2025 11:02:06 PM (No. 1946287)
Thank you, President Trump.
12 people like this.

Reply 11 - Posted by: jeffkinnh 5/7/2025 6:57:23 AM (No. 1946339)
How much of the extra costs are "payoffs" of one type or another? DOGE should be set loose on this project. I'll bet that they would find that 3/4 of the money "disappeared" into unknown destinations. STOP the funding. NOW!
9 people like this.

Reply 12 - Posted by: Strike3 5/7/2025 8:27:53 AM (No. 1946384)
Let the pieces of the useless, unfinished project sit there and rust, like Barack's library in Chicago.
2 people like this.

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