Feds skip over California bullet train's $1.2 billion grants request. What happens now?

California’s controversial bullet-train project has been passed over by the federal government in its efforts to secure about $1.2 billion to continue construction in the central San Joaquin Valley.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority had applied last year for about $1.2 billion in competitive grants from two different programs under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. But the authority struck out on both, according to grant announcements made last month by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“We were disappointed not to receive a grant in this particular round,” Brian Annis, the rail agency’s chief financial officer, told The Fresno Bee in a telephone interview.

The missed grants were part of the federal Multimodal Project Disciplinary Grant program, nicknamed MEGA. But Annis noted that the agency had previously received money, although in smaller amounts, from other federal grant programs. ............(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/21295418/ca-feds-skip-over-california-bullet-trains-12-billion-grants-request-what-happens-now