California drops lawsuit over Trump’s decision to withdraw $4 billion in funding for high-speed rail
WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (Reuters) – California dropped a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s administration’s decision to cancel more than $4 billion in federal grants for the state’s high-speed rail project, the state said late on Friday.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority, which filed the lawsuit in July, said the decision to drop it reflected the state’s “assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive or trustworthy partner in the advancement of high-speed rail in California.”
The agency said it plans to move forward without federal funds, adding that only 18% of program expenses for the long-delayed project come from federal funds. A judge this month rejected an attempt to dismiss the lawsuit.
The Federal Railroad Administration issued a 315-page report in June that found the project was plagued by missed deadlines, budget shortfalls and questionable ridership projections.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Saturday that FRA’s investigation showed that after more than 15 years, California’s high-speed rail authority “could not deliver on its high-speed rail promises on time or on budget.”
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The department added: “American tax dollars will be kept from being wasted on this train to nowhere and will instead support real projects that improve the lives of railroad passengers, local drivers and pedestrians.”
The project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in July that Republican President Donald Trump’s administration’s termination of the subsidies amounted to “petty political retribution, motivated by President Trump’s personal animosity toward California and the high-speed rail project, not the facts on the ground.”
The funding cuts are the latest hurdle in the 16-year effort to link Los Angeles and San Francisco with a three-hour train ride, a project that would provide the fastest passenger rail service in the United States.
Originally scheduled for completion in 2020 at a cost of $33 billion, the project is now expected to cost between $89 billion and $128 billion, with service expected to begin in 2033.
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The rail system, whose first bond issue was approved by California voters in 2008, has built more than 50 major rail structures, including bridges, overpasses, overpasses and viaducts, and has completed nearly 80 miles (130 km) of guideway for the project.
In August, the Transportation Department canceled another $175 million for four projects that are part of the high-speed rail program, following the cancellation of $4 billion in federal grants.
The California agency said this week that it was beginning a process to attract private investors and developers by the summer of 2026. The agency said Friday that the loss of federal funds will not derail the project or construction, adding that it was making progress.
“Rather than continuing to spend time and money challenging termination, the state is moving forward without them,” the agency said, noting that legislation signed in September secures $1 billion for the program annually through 2045.
During his first term, Trump revoked $929 million in federal grants, a move challenged by the state, which led to a deal in 2021 under Democratic President Joe Biden that restored the full amount.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)