US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that the US Transport Department was cutting $ 4 billion (€ 3.4 billion) in federal funding for California’s high -speed rail project.
Using a pejorative name for Gavin Newsom, the Governor of Democratic California, “A single penny in federal dollars will not again go to this news scam,” he posted on social media.
Trump called the project “a sick and unnecessary project, and the total waste of taxpayer’s money”.
Meanwhile, US Transport Secretary Sean Dafi said: “Governor Newsom and California’s high -speed rail boon are the inability of the government and possibly the definition of corruption.”
How did California react?
California officials have described the action as illegal. “California is putting all the options on the table to fight this,” Newsom said in a statement.
California High-speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Chaudhary said, “It is illegal to cancel the thesis grant with only wrong.” “These are legally binding agreements, and the authority has fulfilled every obligation.”
The authority stated that the project is “approaching the track deteriorating,” that the 171 miles are under active construction and design, 15,500 jobs have been made, and more than 50 major structures have been completed.
What is California high-speed rail?
The California high-speed rail system is a planned, two-step, 800-mile (1287 km) system that will travel for 220 mph (354 km per hour).
Its purpose is to add San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anahem in the first phase and expand to Sacramento to Sacramento in the second phase and San Diego in the south.
The project was launched in 2008 and has many delays and budget overran experience.
The phase of Los Angeles from San Francisco was initially expected to be completed by 2020 at a cost of $ 33 billion. However, the price tag has now jumped from $ 128 billion.
Trump opposes project
Donald Trump had earlier canceled the federal funds for the project during his first term. However, the decision was temporarily held when California registered a legal challenge.
In 2020, which biden, a democrat, who restores the elected president and partially money.
Even if California again challenges Trump’s decision in the court, the cancellation of the fining will cause severe damage to the project and possibly delay further.
Edited by: John Silk
