Because the Trump administration threatened this week to cancel round $4bn in funding for California’s under-construction high-speed railway, a survey confirmed 67% of voters within the state help the undertaking.
Initially deliberate as a 495-mile line between Los Angeles within the south and San Francisco within the north, with a proposed leg within the north to Sacramento, work has been continuing since 2019 on a 171-mile preliminary phase within the Central Valley between Bakersfield within the south and Merced within the north.
On that preliminary stretch, some 60 miles of guideway has been accomplished and 54 of 93 mandatory constructions have been constructed, with 30 extra at the moment beneath development, says the California Excessive-Pace Rail Authority (CHSRA).
In February, President Trump’s transport secretary Sean Duffy ordered the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to analyze whether or not $4bn pledged by the Biden administration for the undertaking must be withdrawn.
This week, performing FRA head Drew Feeley wrote to the CHSRA claiming the undertaking has missed repeated deadlines and exceeded value estimates by billions of {dollars}. The letter gave the authority 30 days to reply earlier than what it mentioned was a possible choice to revoke the funding, The New York Instances experiences.
That may be unpopular within the state, in keeping with a current ballot commissioned by Politico and UC Berkeley’s Jack Citrin Middle for Public Opinion Analysis.
It discovered that 67% of registered voters statewide help persevering with the undertaking, with simply 33% opposed.
82% of Democrats supported the undertaking, as did 63% of Independents and 42% of Republicans, in keeping with the survey.
The ballot, which requested a variety of questions concerning the efficiency of the state authorities, was carried out on the TrueDot.ai platform from 1–14 April 2025 amongst 1,025 California registered voters. The modelled error estimate for the survey is plus or minus 5 share factors.
‘Uninterested in visitors jams’
Rail advocacy group US Excessive Pace Rail famous that the ballot confirmed rising help after a 2022 Los Angeles Instances/UC Berkeley Institute of Authorities Research ballot discovered that 56% of registered California voters supported continued development, in comparison with 35% opposed.
“California voters are uninterested in visitors jams and airport delays,” mentioned Andy Kunz, president and chief government of US Excessive Pace Rail.
“Assist for the California Excessive-Pace Rail undertaking is rising because the state’s transportation system continues to grind to a halt.”
Of all of the registered voters within the state, Los Angeles and Bay Space voters are probably the most supportive of continuous California Excessive-Pace Rail, the survey discovered.
71% of registered voters in each main metropolitan areas responded sure to the query, “Do you help or oppose California persevering with the state’s high-speed rail undertaking?”
The undertaking discovered favour amongst 68% of respondents within the Inland Empire (taking in San Bernardino and Riverside), 64% in Orange County/San Diego, and 56% within the Central Valley.
- Subscribe right here to get tales about development around the globe in your inbox thrice every week
