Incoming Sec. of Transportation held a press conference at LA's Union Station last week, where he announced a supposed "investigation" into the expenditures of the California High-speed rail project. He was partially drowned out by protesters chanting "build the train." That's because everybody knows this isn't about any credible investigation: this is the Trump Administration's flimsy cover for an attempt to claw back some $4 billion in federal funds towards completing the project.
How can I say this with certainty? Look what happened in 2017, during the previous Trump Administration. Secretary Elaine Chao decided not to sign a previously approved grant of $647 million in federal funds for Caltrain electrification, a related project. The Trump administration tried to justify it the same way: they would hold the funds until an investigative audit could be conducted.
What followed was a full-court press by advocates and the California delegation, lead by the late Diane Feinstein, to get the funds released.
Under enormous pressure, Chao eventually relented. "It was teamwork first and foremost," said Carl Guardino, head of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, in July of 2017 at the ground breaking.
The result: the Caltrain electrification project is now completed, launching full service in September of last year. It is an unqualified success, with a 41 percent increase in ridership. It's dramatic proof that when the state invests in good rail service, people make the choice to leave the car at home.
Which is probably why Trump, Elon Musk—who owns a car company after all—and his Republican allies always gun for rail.
Yes, the Trump Administration and its cronies are more determined than ever, but so are advocates. That's why they showed up at Union Station to call "bull" on Duffy's announcement. It's worth noting that the protesters weren't organized. They were a group of people that found out about the event via reddit and decided to come down and tell Duffy to shove it. It was as grass roots as it gets.
So what now? State lawmakers are already doing it, with legislation getting written to find other ways to fund high-speed rail. Meanwhile, in D.C. the delegation is doing what it can to get that $4 billion in promised funds released. Read about all that in Streetsblog California, here, here, and here.
The simple fact is the Trump Administration was wrong about California's rail modernization efforts in 2017. We now have the trains and ridership figures to prove it.
And it's up to the state to finish high-speed rail and prove them wrong again. As for rail supporters, they need to call Governor Gavin Newsom and demand that he get this done, all the way from LA to San Francisco. Call legislative supporters such as State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Assemblymember Nick Shultz (D-Burbank), State Senate Transportation Committee Chair Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley), get on their lists; and find out how you can help.
