SHAFTER, California — California’s high-speed rail project has enough funding on hand to withstand a lack of new federal dollars under the Trump administration, its CEO said Monday.
“As we stand today, the funds that are committed, we have no problem for the next four years and beyond,” said Ian Choudri, who was tapped to lead the California High-Speed Rail Authority in August.
Choudri’s confidence in the project’s financial stability comes amid concerns about the immediate future of a venture that has long drawn the ire of President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
Choudri offered the rosy view of the project’s finances at an event alongside Gov. Gavin Newsom in the Central Valley town of Shafter, where HSRA is set to break ground on its first rail yard and begin laying tracks for a 171-mile stretch from Bakersfield to Modesto.
