A battle to secure an additional $4.2 billion for the California bullet train has hit an impasse, with Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders failing to reach a compromise Friday.
Unless the two sides resume talks soon, any additional money for the bullet train will have to be negotiated in 2022, forcing the rail project to dip further into the roughly $2-billion pot it has in hand.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority was seeking the appropriation of all the remaining money from a 2008 bond act to continue building a partial operating system in the San Joaquin Valley. At the same time, a large coalition in the Assembly wants some of the money diverted to high-speed rail segments in Southern California and the Bay Area.
The negotiations began last spring; since then, the lines have hardened, as Newsom threw his support fully behind rail authority chief Brian Kelly.
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