Trump: US government ‘not going to pay’ for California high-speed railway

The project has seen sharply rising costs. Its original estimated cost was $40 billion but estimates now put that at anywhere between $89 billion to $128 billion.

A shorter section between Merced and Bakersfield will now cost more than the original total, according to the US Department of Transportation.

Map of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system (Image: California High-Speed Rail Authority)

While speaking to reporters during a meeting with new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said, “This government is not going to pay” when asked about the project.

Voters approved $10 billion for California High-Speed Rail in 2008 and the Transportation Department under former President Joe Biden awarded the project another $4 billion.

According to Reuters, a spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said on Tuesday (6 May), “With 50 major structures built, walking away now as we enter the track-laying phase would be reckless — wasting billions already invested and letting job-killers cede a generational infrastructure advantage to China.”

The California High-Speed Rail Authority said there is active civil construction along 119 miles in the Central Valley, resulting in over 15,000 construction jobs, and design and pre-construction activities are underway on the extensions to Merced and Bakersfield totalling 171 miles.

The Federal Railroad Administration said in February it had initiated a review of the California project at the direction of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over the funds to build the segment in the California Central Valley between Merced and Bakersfield.

USDOT cited a report that the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone has a funding gap of at least $6.5 billion.