Trump cancels federal funding for California high-speed rail project, could the US’s first high-speed rail be cancelled?

“California’s High-Speed Rail Project Faces Setbacks Again”
The United States’ high-speed rail project in California has once again encountered setbacks. On the 16th, President Donald Trump announced on social media platforms that he had canceled federal funding for the California high-speed rail project. Trump believed that the cost of the California high-speed rail project was too high, even calling it a “scam.” Following Trump’s announcement, California Governor Newsom immediately responded with a firm stance, stating that California would “take all measures to fight Trump’s illegal actions.” According to a report by “Politico,” the California government might engage in an extended legal battle with the federal government over this matter, and the dispute between Trump and Newsom could further escalate.
As early as the late 1970s and early 1980s, then-Governor Brown of California strongly advocated for the construction of the high-speed rail. However, it wasn’t until 2008 that California officially decided to build the high-speed rail. The California high-speed rail plan is intended to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, with a long-term plan extending southward to San Diego near the US-Mexico border and northward to lay out additional lines. The first phase of the project began in 2015, with the current railway length being about 120 miles.
However, since its launch, the California high-speed rail project has faced issues such as delays in progress and budget overruns. When it was initiated in 2008, the overall cost of the California high-speed rail project was estimated at approximately $33 billion, which has now soared to around $130 billion. The project’s funding mainly comes from California, but the Obama and Biden administrations have promised to provide federal funds for the project. The 4 billion dollars withdrawn by Trump are exactly the amount of federal funds pledged. Last month, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a report on the California high-speed rail project, stating that the project overestimated passenger numbers and that it was impossible to complete construction by 2033, with the aforementioned completion milestones being prerequisites for obtaining federal funding. Several media outlets emphasized that this is the first high-speed rail project planned in the United States.
In recent years, the United States has maintained a keen interest in high-speed rail. In addition to the ongoing California high-speed rail project, Texas, governed by the Republican Party, is also considering building a high-speed rail system. Meanwhile, there are many opposition views towards high-speed rail construction within the United States. A recent article by Fischer Baumbach, head of the American think tank RAND, stated that the initial business plan for the California high-speed rail project underestimated costs and overestimated passenger flow. Even if the high-speed rail ultimately becomes operational, it will still result in losses. Canceling the high-speed rail plan is good news for taxpayers and California. Professor Sawicki from Northwestern University told Newsweek that China has a higher population density, making it suitable for constructing high-speed rail, while the sparsely populated United States is not suitable. However, he still supports the construction of high-speed rail in densely populated areas in the United States. (Global Times correspondent Zhuo Ran and Zhen Xiang)