California’s bullet train could cost taxpayers 50% more than estimated — as much as $3.6 billion more. A confidential Federal Railroad Administration risk analysis, obtained by The Times, projects that building bridges, viaducts, trenches and track from Merced to Shafter could cost $9.5 billion to $10 billion, compared with the original budget of $6.4 billion. The federal document outlines far-reaching management problems: significant delays in environmental planning, lags in processing invoices for federal grants and continuing failures to acquire needed property. The California High-Speed Rail Authority had originally anticipated completing the Central Valley track by this year, but the federal risk analysis estimates that that won’t happen until 2024, placing the project seven years behind schedule. The federal risk analysis identifies several major problems that have dogged the project for years and proved difficult to remedy.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 13, 2017 15:42 UTC