As I'm sure you know by now we were able to get the final compromise on the high-speed rail financing bill in the legislature late last week. The passage of the bond funding will now allow the Central Valley projects to move forward as planned. There could still be some delays, particularly in the southern sections, while they deal with completing the EIR and face potential lawsuits.
Along with the passage of the bond funds for the Central Valley HSR project there was $1.1 billion allocated to the urban areas for high-speed rail. That includes $600 million for electrification in the SF Bay area which will be matched by a similar amount from the local authorities. In addition,$500 million will be made available in the Los Angeles area, which again will have to be matched by local authorities, federal funds, or the private sector. Finally as you can see from the below chart about $750 million is also allocated for connectivity funds. These funds will be used by the local rail agencies in the amounts indicated below. In many cases these new funds will allow them to complete projects of much larger size where they have already been able to identify other funds. For example, in LA, the connectivity funds provide the final amounts needed for the regional connector.
In summary, in addition to the $7.9 billion authorized by the Legislature a minimum of $750 million will be provided to the local authorities and other funding will often be used to complete the projects. This will ultimately result in over $10 billion in funding for rail projects in California. This does not count things like Desert Xpress which now awaits a decision from the federal government to move forward. LA Metro is completing a study on the Palmdale Victorville section of that project which could add another $2-$3 billion in construction in that Corridor and when added to the $6.5 billion from DX would produce close to $10 billion of additional rail work.
Our team will be having some meetings in order to get a better sense of how they hope to allocate their funds. We will begin tracking all the funds and their local products. Along with the passage of the bond funds for the Central Valley HSR project there was $1.1 billion allocated to the urban areas for high-speed rail. That includes $600 million for electrification in the SF Bay area which will be matched by a similar amount from the local authorities. In addition,$500 million will be made available in the Los Angeles area, which again will have to be matched by local authorities, federal funds, or the private sector. Finally as you can see from the below chart about $750 million is also allocated for connectivity funds. These funds will be used by the local rail agencies in the amounts indicated below. In many cases these new funds will allow them to complete projects of much larger size where they have already been able to identify other funds. For example, in LA, the connectivity funds provide the final amounts needed for the regional connector.
In summary, in addition to the $7.9 billion authorized by the Legislature a minimum of $750 million will be provided to the local authorities and other funding will often be used to complete the projects. This will ultimately result in over $10 billion in funding for rail projects in California. This does not count things like Desert Xpress which now awaits a decision from the federal government to move forward. LA Metro is completing a study on the Palmdale Victorville section of that project which could add another $2-$3 billion in construction in that Corridor and when added to the $6.5 billion from DX would produce close to $10 billion of additional rail work.
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