Congress Poised To Kill High-Speed Train Program
Congress voted Thursday to kill funds for President Barack Obama's signature high-speed rail program, but the initiative may have some life in it still.
Watch CBS News
Congress voted Thursday to kill funds for President Barack Obama's signature high-speed rail program, but the initiative may have some life in it still.
Taxpayers could be on the hook for more than $1 billion in annual operating costs if the ridership estimates for California's proposed high-speed rail project don't pan out.
California voters and the Obama administration have committed nearly $13 billion to the state's high-speed rail project, but the ambitious plan to link California's biggest cities by rail faces increasing questions about whether it will ever become reality.
Building tracks for the first section of California's proposed high-speed rail line will cost $2.9 billion to $6.8 billion more than originally estimated, raising questions about the affordability of the nation's most ambitious rail project at a time when its planning and finances are under fire.
A panel charged with reviewing plans for California's high-speed rail project says planners need to answer serious questions about the cost and business model before the Legislature approves construction.
The federal agency that has approved about $3.5 billion in grants for California's high-speed rail system has no authority to change the September 2012 deadline to start construction and sees no reason to consider moving the first stretch of track out of the Central Valley, an official said in a letter Wednesday.
The state's independent analyst is calling for major changes to California's high-speed rail plans, including delaying the fast-tracked project and taking control away from the independent board that now controls it.
Money designated for a now-canceled rail line in Florida was divvied up among nearly two dozen projects around the country Monday, heartening supporters but giving critics fuel to deride it as a diversion from President Barack Obama's high-speed-train ambitions or as a simple waste of money.
A proposal to launch bullet trains through the San Francisco Bay area on retooled Caltrain tracks instead of a brand-new rail line was expected to be considered later this week.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott canceled plans for a high-speed train line between Orlando and Tampa promoted by President Barack Obama, saying Wednesday it would cost the state too much even with $2.4 billion in federal help.
California is getting another $624 million in high-speed rail money from the federal government.
A group of minority business owners demanded Wednesday that the federal government withhold more than $3 billion in funding for California's bullet train project while they investigate claims of unfair contracting practices by high-speed rail officials.
California high-speed rail officials have approved a proposal to build the first segment of the state's high-speed rail line in the Central Valley.
The first segment of a $43-billion bullet train line between San Francisco and Anaheim will be built in the middle of Central Valley farmlands, far away from either urban center.
