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US may cancel $4 billion in funding for California High-Speed Rail if it does not see a viable route.

The Trump Administration said on Wednesday that there was no viable way forward for California's High-Speed Rail Project and warned it could revoke $4 billion of government funding in the next few weeks.

Transportation Department of the United States released a report by Federal Railroad Administration. The report cited missed timelines, budget shortages, and doubtful ridership projections. California's failure to identify $7 billion additional funding required for a first segment between Merced, California and Bakersfield was cited as a key issue.

USDOT gave California California until the middle of July to respond, and then the administration can terminate the grants. Trump announced last month that the U.S. Government would not fund the project.

According to the FRA report released on Wednesday, California "swindled taxpayers out of their $4 billion investment with no viable plan for delivering even this partial segment by time."

California High-Speed Rail System (California High-Speed Rail System) is a two-phase 800-mile system that can reach speeds up to 220 mph. It aims to link San Francisco with Los Angeles/Anaheim, and extend in the second stage north to Sacramento and to San Diego.

The project was approved by voters in 2008 for $10 billion, but costs have increased dramatically. Under former president Joe Biden, the Transportation Department awarded this project approximately $4 billion.

The San Francisco to Los Angeles project, originally estimated to cost $33 billion by 2020, has now increased from $89 billion up to $128 billion.

California High-Speed Rail Authority did not comment immediately on Wednesday but said that last month, the rail project was "delivering real results". Civil construction is underway along 119 miles of the Central Valley, resulting over 15,000 jobs. Design and pre-construction work are also underway for the 171 mile extension to Merced, Bakersfield, and beyond.

Biden restored in 2021 a $929-million grant Trump had revoked after the Republican President called the California high-speed rail project a disaster. (Reporting and editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Franklin Paul and David Shepardson)

(source: Reuters)