U.S. stands by California bullet train project despite critics
The Obama administration vowed Thursday at a House committee meeting in Washington that it would not back down from its support of California’s bullet train project despite attacks from critics who alleged it is tainted by political corruption.
“We are not going to flinch on that support,” said Joseph Szabo, chief of the Federal Railroad Administration.
Szabo said that his agency had committed itself to provide $3.3 billion for a construction start next year in the Central Valley and that federal law prohibits any change of mind about where to begin building the first segment of the state’s high-speed rail system.
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-- Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times
Photo: A rider boards a Metrolink train at L.A.’s Union Station. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times