Trump Administration Redirects Billions From Newsom’s California High-Speed Rail Project to Rail Upgrades Nationwide
The Trump administration is redirecting billions of dollars pulled from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s troubled high-speed rail project toward railroad safety improvements and passenger rail projects across the country.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that approximately $5.3 billion will be distributed through two major Federal Railroad Administration programs, funding hundreds of projects intended to improve rail infrastructure, eliminate dangerous crossings and modernize passenger service.
A substantial portion of the money comes from roughly $4 billion in federal funding the Trump administration previously terminated for California’s long-delayed high-speed rail system. Federal officials concluded the project had failed to meet key requirements attached to the grants.
Rather than leaving those billions tied up in the California project, the administration is now putting the money toward projects that officials argue can produce tangible improvements for passengers, freight operators and communities around the country.
The largest share, approximately $3.8 billion, will be distributed through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program. Another roughly $1.5 billion will go through the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program, which focuses on improving or eliminating dangerous at-grade crossings.
The administration says the money will support hundreds of projects nationwide. Investments include improvements to bridges, tracks, stations and signals, along with projects designed to separate roads from railroad tracks and reduce collisions between trains and vehicles.
More than $200 million is headed to projects in California despite the administration’s decision to cut funding for Newsom’s high-speed rail system. That allows the White House to argue it is not abandoning California transportation infrastructure, but redirecting taxpayer dollars toward projects it believes have clearer and more immediate benefits.
Duffy has repeatedly blasted California’s bullet train as an example of government spending gone off the rails. The project was originally sold to voters as a high-speed connection between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but years of delays, rising costs and changing timelines have transformed it into a major political target for Republicans.
The Trump administration terminated approximately $4 billion in federal commitments to the project in 2025 after a federal review concluded California was not complying with its grant agreements. California officials strongly disputed those findings and accused the administration of politically targeting the project.
Newsom and California officials have continued defending high-speed rail, pointing to completed structures, construction underway in the Central Valley and the long-term economic benefits they believe the system will provide. The state has continued pursuing the project without relying on the terminated federal grants.
The administration is taking a dramatically different approach. Instead of pouring additional federal money into one massive California megaproject, Trump officials are spreading billions across rail projects they say can deliver safety improvements and upgraded transportation infrastructure throughout the country.
The funding announcement gives Trump and Duffy another opportunity to contrast their infrastructure priorities with Newsom’s record in California. Billions once intended for the state’s high-speed rail system will now finance railroad projects nationwide, turning money stripped from one of California’s most controversial public works projects into a centerpiece of the administration’s national rail agenda.