Exciting news: We now know where Obama's $8 billion for high-speed rail is going. Florida is getting $1.25 billion (not the $2.6 billion they had...
California voters committed $10 billion in taxes to a high-speed line between San Francisco and Anaheim in November 2008, and their unrivaled effort has been justly rewarded, with a commitment of $2.25 billion to the project, about half of what the state applied for in August. These funds will go to environmental work and initial construction along corridors between San Francisco and San Jose; Los Angeles and Anaheim; Fresno and Bakersfield; and Merced and Fresno. The state rail authority has pledged an equal match, though it has not yet established exactly how much each corridor will receive.
I had guessed that California's head start on high-speed rail would put the state at the top of the list for federal money (though that's not really going out on a limb). The total price tag for California's plan to get 220 mph trains along all those corridors by 2020 is estimated at $42 billion, but this is a great start.
You can see a larger (and legible) version of the map above here.
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