NEWS RELEASE: California High-Speed Rail Authority Applies for $450 Million From Federal Government to Advance Construction Toward Merced and Invest in Workforce

May 28, 2024

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) is applying for new federal funding to advance construction and expedite important safety improvements between Madera and Merced along the northern portion of rail line in the Central Valley.

“California’s transformative high-speed rail project will continue to improve the communities it serves. These federal funds would help construct the first part of the project’s Merced extension and support jobs and small businesses while enhancing economic development and improving mobility.” — Brian Kelly, California High Speed Rail Authority CEO

The grant funding for $450 million would help the Authority to advance construction toward the city of Merced, a crucial portion of high-speed rail’s 171-mile Merced to Bakersfield Central Valley segment. Of the $450 million applied for, $446 requested from the Federal Railroad Administration’s FY23 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program would fund work to extend the Madera to Merced segment. Awards are expected to be announced this fall.

If awarded, this request will advance the Merced extension by:

• Constructing eight miles of the extension from Madera to Merced.
• Relocating utilities; advancing civil construction and track and systems that will connect with the 119-mile Central Valley segment already under construction.

Other costs for the project’s final design and right-of-way acquisition are being funded in part out of the record $3.1 billion Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program grant awarded in 2023. The remaining $4 million applied for would expand workforce training programs for underserved students in the Central Valley through a partnership with Fresno State and also continue to fund the Central Valley Training Center in Selma (Fresno County),  which to date has graduated 12 cohorts and 196 students pursuing careers in the building trades since 2020.

“Creating curriculum and learning opportunities in the rail industry here in the Central Valley where work is happening is a win-win,” said John Gregory Green, PhD, lecturer for the Department of Civil & Geomatics Engineering at Fresno State University. “Programs like the one we’re creating provide the necessary information and skills needed for this next generation to thrive, bringing significant job opportunities and economic benefits to disadvantaged communities in the region.”

“This funding is needed to prepare the next generation of skilled construction tradesmen and women for work on the high-speed rail project and other similar projects,” said Chuck Riojas, Executive Director for the Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings Building Trades Council. “Investing in living-wage jobs is investing in people and the families they support. It brings both immediate and long-term economic benefits to our region.”

The California high-speed rail project aligns with federal priorities of equity, climate, sustainability, safety, and transformation, providing services in disadvantaged communities and bringing benefits to a region facing barriers – fully consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 initiative.

Since the start of construction, the Authority has created more than 13,000 construction jobs, a majority going to residents from the Central Valley. More than 70% of the jobs created go back to residents living in the Central Valley. On average, nearly 1,500 individuals are dispatched each day to a high-speed rail construction site.

“With work well underway in the Central Valley and throughout the state, high-speed will improve the health, safety, access, connectivity, and economic vitality of our region,” said Matthew Serratto, city of Merced mayor. “We’re working together with the State of California to make Merced a mobility hub in the region.”

The Authority has begun work to extend the 119 miles currently under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. There are currently more than 25 active construction sites in the Valley, with the Authority having also fully environmentally cleared 422 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to Los Angeles County. For the latest on high-speed rail construction, visit www.buildhsr.com.

The following link contains recent video, animations, photography, press center resources and latest renderings: https://hsra.app.box.com/s/vyvjv9hckwl1dk603ju15u07fdfir2q8

These files are all available for free use, courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.