California bullet train cost rises by another $1 billion

SACRAMENTO — The estimated cost to complete California’s high-speed rail line rose another $1.3 billion, to $80.3 billion, while construction is on schedule to meet a 2022 deadline to have about 20% of the track laid, according to a new business plan released Wednesday.

The cost bump is less than in previous years, and is mainly because the plan pushes back the completion of a highspeed rail link between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley by 18 months, to late 2031.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s latest business plan comes amid pressure from state lawmakers, some of whom want to peel o more of the money to help commuters in the state’s population centers. The 168-page report attempts to counter those critics by emphasizing the $3 billion already going to so-called “bookend” projects in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas.

Five Southern California Democratic legislators, led by powerful Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, said in a statement that they are disappointed in the new plan and will “insist that discussions include our proposed alternative that provides for early service investments in other high-speed rail corridors while also continuing work in the Central Valley.”

The final plan will be sent to state lawmakers by May, after public comments and legislative hearings.

“We continue to make investments in all three regions of the state,” said Brian Kelly, the project’s chief executive, adding that “California is further along than I think a lot of people think.”

The increase in the projected baseline cost is smaller than previous jumps, with Kelly calling it ”virtually unchanged” and within the ranges of recent previous estimates.