The Biden administration is funneling billions of federal dollars into major rail projects across the country — an effort aimed at reshaping the future of US travel and keeping up with other countries’ advancing high-speed trains.
In the final two months of 2023, a slate of highly-anticipated federal grants were awarded: $8.2 billion for bullet trains and a pipeline of nationwide projects, and $16.4 billion for 25 passenger rail projects along the busy Northeast Corridor.
“The way to keep the momentum going is to make sure we have people who have a vision about rail, not just about roads,” Ray LaHood, who served as transportation secretary in the Obama administration, said. “Rail is the next generation of transportation.”
But some projects rely on long-term federal support, which can waver depending on the political party in power. While the Biden administration has allocated record funds to rail, House Republicans have sought to make cuts and block future funds to certain rail projects in appropriations measures.
The California High-Speed Rail Project, which has faced criticism for delays and costs, scored a $3 billion federal grant this month for a proposed line to connect Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield, championed by California democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. On the other side of the aisle, California Republicans have fumed about the funding boost, setting up fights over the dollars.
“This boondoggle is one of the most wasteful monstrosities I’ve seen,” Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) said. “Every cent dedicated to this project needs to be rescinded, and I am exploring all options available to see what can be done.”
California High-Speed Rail Secures $3 Billion in Federal Funds
High-Speed Momentum
The latest grants from the Transportation Department advanced several key train projects: the California line, a $1 billion grant backed by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) for a new passenger rail route between Raleigh, North Carolina and Richmond, Virginia; and $3 billion for private rail provider Brightline to build a $12 billion high-speed railway between Las Vegas and Southern California.
The US is playing catch-up in the race to build high-speed train lines, which countries including China, France and Japan already operate.
“America is way behind and this is a great, big first step in the right direction,” Andy Kunz, president and CEO of the US High Speed Rail Association, said. “We spend half our life stuck in traffic or stuck in airports or stuck in canceled flights when it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Brightline wants to open in time for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Brightline Founder and Chairman Wes Edens said the project would “serve as the blueprint for how we can repeat this model throughout the country.”
However, questions remain over the current blueprint. California has spent more than a decade working on its own 220-mph bullet train, that has been hindered by excess costs and setbacks, and attracted criticism from GOP lawmakers.
Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) said “not one more dime of federal money should be going towards this failed train to nowhere,” a sentiment echoed by other House GOP members in a recent hearing on the future of intercity passenger rail. The Trump administration rescinded money to the project that the Biden administration later restored.
“We have not had friends on the other side of the aisle with this in the White House or even on the other side of our delegation,” Pelosi said.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said each selected project was thoroughly examined and the department would work to ensure they stay on time and on budget. He said the California project is “facing a lot of the challenges that come with being the very first at anything.”
Amtrak Boost
Infrastructure law funding flowed to Amtrak this year, including for Northeast Corridor projects such as the long-delayed New York Gateway tunnel project and the Frederick Douglass Tunnel in Baltimore. Amtrak is eyeing further expansion and faster trip times in the coming years.
But the funding stream from the infrastructure law contrasts with efforts in the House to cut financing amid criticism that projects are too focused on the Northeast, and that it already receives substantial investment from the federal government. The efforts have so far been thwarted by opposition from Democrats and some Republicans in districts with key rail service.
“It’s really important to not undo all the progress that frankly has been made because of the bipartisan infrastructure bill,” Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said. “There’s tons of demand from Americans to ride passenger trains. It’s not like some of the other transit or other transportation agencies where demand is much, much lower.”
Amtrak Hopes to Lure Nearly 33 Million Riders During Fiscal 2024
Amtrak has faced challenges, however, including on its forthcoming Acela trains that are intended to enter service in 2024. Amtrak’s Northeast Regional trains surpassed pre-pandemic ridership levels for fiscal 2023, but its Acela trains — the fastest train between Boston, New York and Washington — didn’t hit those levels.
Top Amtrak executives said it has fewer Acela sets in service than before the pandemic because they’ve been waiting on new trains, which will face critical testing in early 2024. Amtrak signed a contract with Alstom SA in 2016 to produce the high-speed trainsets, originally expected in 2021.
Uncertainty in Congress
Funding for Amtrak and California high-speed rail projects is expected to prove a continued sticking point in budget negotiations early next year.
David Ditch, senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation who has scrutinized federal dollars to high-speed rail, said defunding certain types of projects and going after particular regulations is an area where it seems like conservatives are more likely to get wins as opposed to calling for wholesale eliminations of programs.
Meanwhile, lawmakers who didn’t secure grants or need more are already jockeying for money in 2024. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) asked Buttigieg last week to consider the Springfield Rail Improvements Project, while members of the Washington delegation are pushing for future funds to the Cascadia Ultra-High-Speed Ground Transportation project.
The 2024 election could see another match between Biden and former president Donald Trump, both with different approaches to transportation. Biden, nicknamed “Amtrak Joe,” has used his administration’s infrastructure spending to ding Trump, saying this month that “Trump just talks the talk. We walk the walk.”
Biden Awards $8.2 Billion to Boost Rail in Key 2024 States
“That’s really been the problem is that we have one administration supports it, they get a little funding, then the next administration comes in and cancels it and doesn’t fund it,” Kunz said of high-speed rail. “It’s really going to come down to consistent funding.”
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