Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has criticized Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and California after a court dismissed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump‘s administration for withdrawing $4 billion in funding for the state’s high-speed rail project.
Train To Nowhere
In a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, the Transportation Secretary hailed the court’s decision. Duffy said that the administration, under Trump, was “protecting billions of American taxpayers’ dollars from funding California’s ridiculous train to nowhere.”
‘Severely Overpriced,’ Says Trump
The court dismissed a case filed by officials against the administration after the Department of Transportation (DOT) cut funding in July this year, with the project estimated to cost over $100 billion. It would connect Los Angeles with San Francisco.
Trump had earlier slammed the proposal for the rail network, calling the project “severely overpriced.” He had also earlier directed over $2.4 billion in funds to be reallocated to $5 billion allocated to improve passenger rail infrastructure across the country. The administration has shared a tense relationship with California ever since Trump took office earlier this year.
Self-Driving Trains?
Meanwhile, a former SpaceX employee, Matt Soule, has founded Parallel Systems, a company focused on developing autonomous freight trains. The Los Angeles-based company raised over $38 million in Series B funding and has undertaken a pilot project in Georgia.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
Read Next:
Photo courtesy: Joshua Sukoff / Shutterstock.com
Recent Comments