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Government pulls federal funding for California high speed rail project
The Trump administration has pulled nearly $1 billion in funding for the proposed high-speed rail project in California.
The Federal Railroad Administration said it has pulled the $929 million funds which were agreed during the Obama administration.
California ‘repeatedly failed’ to meet the terms of the agreement, and had not made any ‘reasonable progress.’
The state plans to fight the decision.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called it ‘political retribution’ by the government and ‘a direct assault on California.’
That’s a fair point considering California has become the White House’s principal antagonist.
The state has filed 50 lawsuits against the government since Trump came to power, and is promising it won’t be long before the 51st..
"This is California’s money, appropriated by Congress, and we will vigorously defend it in court," Newsom said.
The project was initially a huge multi-billion dollar project to link Los Angeles to San Francisco but was scaled back due to ballooning costs. Its budget was initially $13 billion but by March 2018 had jumped to $77 billion.
Instead a 119 mile line was proposed linking Merced and Bakersfield in the Central Valley.
The government is also trying to claw back $2.5 billion it says California has already spent on the project.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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