California’s high-speed rail project plans to receive $1 billion in funding per year through the state’s cap and trade program Over the next 20 years, legislatures were urged to approve the requested legislators’ relief, as billions of dollars of federal funds remain at risk.
State leaders say the move is being finalized by the legislature, a necessary step to consolidate private sector investment, a key area for project officials. The project’s CEO Ian Choudri said the agreement is crucial to completing current priorities — a 171-mile section from Merced to Bakersfield by 2033.
“This financing agreement addresses all identified funding gaps for the early operational sector of the Central Valley and opens the door to meaningful public-private participation with the program,” Choudri said in a statement. “And, we must also work to ensure long-term funding (in addition to today’s commitments), which can bring high-speed rail to California’s population center, where passenger volume and revenue growth will in turn support future expansion.”
The project was originally proposed with a 2020 completion date, but so far, the route has not been completed. This is also about The initial $33 billion budget exceeded $100 billion This was initially brought to voters and received considerable push from Republican lawmakers and some Democrats. The Trump administration has recently moved Pull $4 billion in funding The plan was built in the Central Valley; in turn, the state prosecuted.
Nevertheless, advocates of the project still believe this is crucial to the country’s economy and national transit innovation.
“We appreciate the commitment and determination of the Governor’s news and legislative leaders to make the high-speed rail successful,” former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Co-Chairman American high-speed rail Ray Lahood said in a statement. “This agreement represents the most important step in this transformation project.”
State Sen. Dave Cortese (D-san Jose), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the Legislature “must act quickly to pass the program and keep California transport normal to achieve the first true high-speed rail in the United States.”
Construction of the project is limited to the Central Valley. Choudri said the project could take decades to connect the route from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and it is not clear when construction will begin elsewhere in the state. The latest report from authorities proposes the next alternative to the project, which will link the Central Valley to Gilroy and Palmadale. In this case, regional transportation will fill the gaps in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
LA-AREA lawmakers recently demanded $3.3 billion in annual investment from the state’s cap and trade funds, acknowledging that while high-speed rail is a state priority, LA counties should not be ignored in increasing the most direct transportation investment in the state’s largest county. The Delegation cites equity, health and climate needs, driving more investment in buses, rail and regional connectors.
According to the latest report from the Southern California Association. In government, Los Angeles County accounts for 82% of Southern California bus rides. Despite high public transport use, lawmakers and transit leaders say expansion and improvement are necessary.
“Millions of Los Angeles County residents have relied on subway buses and rail, Metrolink and municipal operators. But even if highway traffic rebounds almost completely, services remain unmet the pace needed: transit passengers are still 25-30% below pre-pandemic levels.” “Without a significant investment, supercommuters from the Valley, South Los Angeles and the Inland Empire are still locked in long and expensive car trips.”
Funding commitments for Los Angeles County transportation were maintained from the last budget, but the delegation’s request for a multi-billion dollar cap and transaction funds had not yet been met.
“The June 2025 state budget agreement restored $1.1 billion in flexible transit funding for GGRF, and the company benefited statewide, including Los Angeles County,” said Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) office.
Smallwood-Cuevas said the request was intended to ensure that transit needs in the Los Angeles area are not lost.
“When people in Los Angeles County leave cars and go into public transportation, we recognize what that means – it’s the biggest reduction that can happen,” she said. “We’re totally going to see an opportunity where we can address some passengers and look at ways to ensure fair opportunities for investment in transit public transportation in our area, while we’re also working to build what I’m talking about transit spine, a high-speed rail program that will extend up and down the country and transit with our area.”
State Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) said the state’s investment in wildfire recovery in Pacific Palisades and Altadena “does not mean you should leave the world’s largest driver anywhere in the world and be trapped in traffic forever.”
“Not nothing is there [for transit funding]Stern said. “It’s just that we think there should be more.”
The Los Angeles area does not face the same national funding barrier in the Bay Area, where lawmakers scramble to obtain $750 million in transportation loans, warning that major services like Bart could be significantly affected without funds.
The high-speed rail project has spent about $14 billion so far, which has created about 15,000 jobs in the Central Valley. In theory, trains will eventually promote economies across the state.
Movela’s Eli Lipmen believes that the investments will help transit in the Los Angeles area by expanding access, before directly establishing a high-speed rail connection.
“There is an incredible bus system with La Metro, but we need the regional system to get to Orange County, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura County,” Lipmen said.
“So even if the high-speed rail doesn’t come here immediately to improve voter connections. That’s a good thing.”
