California’s long-beleaguered high-speed rail project needs another $10 billion just to get the bullet train through farm country, much less reach San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to a new report that outlines yet another dramatic funding shortfall for the Golden State’s most expensive and contentious transit project.

The massive funding gap leaves the future of the project’s 171-mile Central Valley link – connecting Bakersfield to Merced – in jeopardy as Gov. Gavin Newsom is mum on spending increasingly scarce taxpayer dollars and political capital on the project while Republicans continue their calls to abandon the bullet train. Now, the High-Speed Rail Authority is turning to Washington, hoping to secure a massive $8 billion funding package to keep the initial link on track.

Consulted source https://www.mercurynews.com/