SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Transportation Commission will provide $685 million for passenger rail and other transit projects as part of more almost $5 billion in funding announced Friday (June 27, 2025) by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Freight infrastructure will also benefit.
Nearly $2.44 million of the funding comes from the state’s Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, which uses gas-tax money to improve conditions on the state’s roadways. Of that, $1.45 billion will go to zero- and low-emission transportation and new infrastructure strengthening the state freight network, better connecting ports with rail yard and freight corridors.\
Newsom in a press release that said the funding “is about protecting Californians today and preparing for tomorrow with transit and transportation options that are safer, cleaner, and built to serve the needs of every Californian.”
Other elements of the funding include $483 million to help communities with projects to extend passenger rail, rapid transit bus expansion, and bicycle and pedestrian safety, and $202 million for the Local Partnership Competitive Program, which also addresses rail, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian programs.
No mention made here of California’s not-quite-dead High Speed Rail Authority. I’d like to know: is someone planning on using (hoping to use) some of this $$ for the HSR? Or planning on NOT using it for that project?
[–Charles Lentz]