Local representatives react to high-speed rail termination announcement

“At every turn, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has mismanaged and misled Californians on the viability of the project. Its budget has ballooned by the billions, projected ridership numbers have proven exaggerated, and the private investment that was promised never materialized. And throughout it all, the Authority has gone to great lengths to keep these facts from California and American taxpayers. Just last week, Governor Newsom rightfully acknowledged the failure, saying: ‘ultimately, the current project, as planned, would cost too much and take too long.’

“It is time is to move on from the broken high-speed rail project and redirect our efforts to infrastructure projects that work for Californians. I applaud Secretary Chao and Administrator Batory for their prudent decision protecting hardworking American taxpayers.”

“The egregious mismanagement of the High Speed Rail project has been well-documented. The Governor acknowledged last week that the High Speed Rail project is over-budget, lacks transparency and cannot be completed as originally told to voters in 2008. Continuing to throw hard-earned tax dollars at a structurally flawed project is fiscally irresponsible and I believe we need to scrap this project entirely. The funds should be re-directed to Central Valley infrastructure projects that will benefit the entire state.”