California High-Speed Rail Plan Gets $54-Million Boost

California’s ongoing high-speed rail project received a federal financial boost this week with the announcement of a $54-million grant for a new station in Madera in the Central Valley, around 20 miles northwest of Fresno.
The funding comes as part of the Department of Transportation’s National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program, a component of President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
California Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, announced the funding on Monday, confirming that a new station would be built at the relocated Madera Amtrak site, part of the planned Merced-Bakersfield segment of the state’s bullet train system.
“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, California commuters will get where they need to go faster, and we will improve connectivity across the Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley,” Padilla said in a press release.
He talked about the project’s benefits, including “better transportation options, good-paying construction jobs, and cleaner air for Central Valley residents.”
The $54-million grant will help fund the construction of the Madera station’s new platforms, trackwork, overhead contact systems, a bus depot, expanded parking, and an access road.
The station is expected to serve both existing Amtrak services and the high-speed rail line once the Central Valley segment begins operations in the early 2030s.
Madera’s new station is located near Avenue 12, approximately eight miles southeast of the existing Amtrak station.
The current station, located near Avenue 19, offers only a sheltered platform and lacks amenities like a ticket office or waiting area. The new station will address these deficiencies, providing improved passenger services and enhancing connectivity to local bus routes.
The high-speed rail station’s development follows years of delays and funding challenges for the statewide bullet train project, first proposed in 2008 to connect Los Angeles with San Francisco.
Initially expected to be operational by 2020 at a projected cost of $33 billion, the project has seen its price tag balloon to an estimated $100 billion to eventually connect the two cities.
Nonetheless, progress continues, with 119 miles of track already under construction in the Central Valley, which will be the initial operating segment of the line. That section is now expected to cost $35 billion.
Once completed, it will have trains traveling at speeds exceeding 200 mph.
The project’s completion timeline for the Central Valley section between Merced and Bakersfield is currently between 2030 and 2033 .
The Madera station is expected to be ready for Amtrak services by mid-2025.