Federal Grants

Securing large new federal grants is a necessary and critical step to achieve the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (Authority) goal of delivering high-speed passenger rail by 2030. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) grant opportunities of more than $75 billion have been identified, making significant funding available for projects like high-speed rail to compete for.

The Authority is uniquely positioned to immediately deploy new federal funding investments that will supplement current state funds toward the delivery of the initial high-speed rail line between Merced and Bakersfield and to advance design on crucial segments in both Northern and Southern California.

The Authority will continue to submit multiple federal grant applications annually over the 5-year BIL program with a total award target of $8 billion. If funding is provided at this level, the federal share would increase to between 35 and 37%.

Response to Federal Railroad Administration Audit

On June 4, 2025, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) asked the Authority to deliver documentation supporting the Authority’s compliance with FY10 and FSP grants. That report highlighted the federal administration’s intent to withdraw funds from the project, as was disputed in an initial June 11 rebuttal by CEO Ian Choudri in which the Authority registered strong disagreement with the report’s findings. The Authority further corrected the record in its July 7, 2025, formal response.

Recent Federal Investment

Over the last few years, the Authority has received $69 million in funding from three Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants, almost $202 million from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program, nearly $3.1 billion from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (FSP) Program, and approximately $90 million from the Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Program, totaling over $3.4 billion. Further detail on these grants is included in the table below.

Early Federal Investment

The Authority received approximately $3.5 billion in federal funding commitments to complete environmental review for the Phase 1 system and to construct the 119-mile Central Valley Segment between Madera and Poplar Avenue.

Of this:

$2.5 billion was from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and;
$929 million was appropriated by Congress from Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funds.

These funds were awarded by the FRA through federal grants. This partnership was instrumental in enabling the Authority to advance the program into construction. The $2.5 billion in ARRA funding was fully expended before the statutory deadline and in compliance with the FRA grant requirement. In January 2022, the FRA fully approved the Authority’s state match, about 12 months ahead of the deadline.

Per the terms of the federal grant agreement, the $929 million of FY10 funds, along with $360 million of state matching funds, are scheduled to be the last funding required to complete the federal grant scope of work.

More on these grants can be found on our Capital Costs and Funding page.

The chart below highlights federal grant funding awarded and pending to date.

AWARDED
Grant Program	Date	Amount	Scope
ARRA	Awarded 2009	$2.5B	The ARRA grant provided HSR with $2.5 billion in federal funding, which was fully expended by the statutory deadline of October 2017. In January 2022, the Authority achieved its state match requirement ($2.5 billion), approximately one year ahead of schedule.
FY10	Awarded 2010	$929M	The FY10 grant provides the Authority with $929 million and has state match requirement of $360 million. The period of performance under the grant is through 2026 with planned expenditures to start in the summer of 2024.
Brownfields	Awarded August 2017	$600K	The Brownfields EPA grant targeted Project Development work in the Los Angeles-Anaheim region. This grant was closed out with all tasks and deliverables met in March 2023.
RAISEPDF Document	Awarded November 2021	$24M (Grant Awarded) $84M (Total Project Cost)	The grant was awarded to fund crucial safety, efficiency, and construction projects in and around the City of Wasco.
RAISEPDF Document	Awarded August 2022	$25M (Grant Awarded) $41M (Total Project Cost)	This grant was awarded to fund design for the Merced Extension of the California High-Speed Rail project. The project will design civil infrastructure, track and systems and station platforms from Madera to Merced.
RAISEPDF Document	Awarded June 2023	$20M (Grant Awarded) $33M (Total Project Cost)	This grant was awarded to fund the Fresno Historic Depot Renovation and Plaza Activation Project, and to integrate zero emissions vehicle infrastructure into historically disadvantaged communities.
CRISIPDF Document	Awarded September 2023	$202M (Grant Awarded) $292M (Total Project Cost)	This grant was awarded to fund complete design, purchase right-or-way and construct six grade separations in the city of Shafter.
Corridor IdentificationPDF Document	Awarded December 2023	No monetary request, but acceptance into the program came with $500,000	Acceptance into this program included California High-Speed Rail in the National Rail Network.
Federal-State PartnershipPDF Document	Awarded December 2023	$3.073B (Grant Awarded) $3.842 B (Total Project Cost)	Inaugural High-Speed Service: Procure 6 electric trainsets for testing and use Fund design and construction of trainset facilities Fund design and construction of the Fresno station Fund final design and right-of-way acquisition for the Merced and the Bakersfield extensions Construction, including track and systems, for the Merced-Bakersfield Initial Operating Segment
RCEPDF Document	Awarded January 2025	$89.65M (Grant Awarded) $112.06M (Total Project Cost)	The Le Grand Road Overcrossing Project consists of the following elements: Construction of the Le Grand Road Overcrossing; Closing of two at-grade crossings at Ranch Road and Lingard Road; Construction of new connecting roads to reach the Le Grand Road Overcrossing; and Construction management, project management and reporting.
APPLIED FOR
FSP-NationalPDF Document	Applied January 2025	$536M (Applied) $670M (Total Project Cost)	The objective of the Project is to commence time consuming and complex tunneling design work reaching 30% design, including: Civil design; Preliminary geotechnical studies; Right-of-way design identification; and Utility design.

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