Policy Priorities
Like other transportation sectors, high-speed rail requires a supportive policy environment to succeed. At minimum, that means predictable, guaranteed funding flows and a streamlined permitting process.
USHSR Federal Priorities
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 included $12 billion in advanced appropriations for the Federal-State Partnership National program, a key source of grant funding for high-speed rai projects. The advanced appropriations, which avoided the need to appropriate the money through the volatile and broken appropriations process, provided significantly increased predictability for developers and suppliers that funding would be made available for the U.S. high-speed and intercity rail network outside the Northeast Corridor. We strongly advocate continuing advanced appropriations in the next 5-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.
It takes far too long to permit and environmentally clear high-speed rail projects. USHSR's permitting reform committee has developed the following proposed solutions:
a) 2-Year Timeline for Passenger Rail Environmental Impact Statements
USHSR proposes limiting agency reviews for Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and Environmental Assessments (EA) of passenger rail projects to two years and one year, respectively. The Fiscal Responsibility Act stipulates these timelines but does not provide the teeth (the law currently only provides for litigation as the method of recourse) to compel agencies reviewing transportation projects to meet the timelines.
b) 30-Day Application Review Trigger
USHSR proposes eliminating delays in starting the 2- or 1-year timeline by creating a 30-day determination window by which the Surface Transportation Board (STB) must review a filed application and make a determination about whether the application is sufficiently complete and whether it is subject to a 2-year EIS Statement or 1-year EA.
c) More Stringent Enforcement Mechanism for EIS / EA Timelines
USHSR proposes that if the lead agency for conducting a 2-year EIS or a 1-year EA fails to complete its review in the statutory timeframe assigned, the application or petition is deemed automatically approved and shall not be subject to judicial review.
d) High-Speed Rail Parity with Freight for Permitting & Environmental Review
USHSR proposes providing the Surface Transportation Board with exclusive jurisdiction over the construction and operation of all U.S. high speed rail projects, as is already the case for freight rail lines.
e) Sufficient Personnel to Complete Timely NEPA Reviews
USHSR proposes that the cost of additional personnel required to meet the aforementioned changes to environmental review timelines be offset by filing fees for project applicants. Specifically, USHSR proposes ensuring that the Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) and Office of Public Assistance, Government Affairs, and Compliance (OPAGAC) are sufficiently staffed.
Through the Corridor Identification and Development (CID) Program, there is now, for the first time, a structured process to develop and advance passenger rail corridors, with federal engagement from the outset. While the CID is an important part of establishing an ongoing federal commitment to passenger rail throughout the country, it also would benefit from streamlining, to allow projects to advance more quickly. USHSR is actively developing specific recommendations to expedite the Corridor ID program.
USHSR Project Priorities
We support robust federal, state and private investments in the following projects:
- Brightline West
- California High-Speed Rail
- Cascadia High-Speed Rail
- High Desert Corridor
- Illinois High-Speed Rail
- Southeast High-Speed Rail
- Texas Central
- Texas High-Speed Rail (Dallas - Fort Worth)
We strongly support Brightline West's application for a $6 billion federal RRIF loan.
The High Desert Corridor has applied for a significant grant from California's Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) to begin construction on the eastern section of the project that connects with Brightline West on the I-15 highway corridor. USHSR strongly supports this application.
Utility relocations and third-party permits have become major sources of delay, cost escalation, and uncertainty on a project that crosses hundreds of miles and interacts with thousands of pieces of existing infrastructure. USHSR supports SB 445, a bill introduced to establish a more predictable and timely process for resolving those conflicts.
In 2025, the California legislature provided $1 billion in guaranteed annual funding for California High-Speed Rail every year through 2045 - a major milestone. Stable funding creates a means of reliable repayment to investors, opening up opportunities to issue bonds and attract private investment. But borrowing costs will remain high until the legislature passes non-impairment language more permanently locking in the $1 billion annual investment through 2045, which will significantly boost the creditworthiness of the project and lower borrowing costs.
SB 198, a law passed in 2022 that appropriated bond money toward construction in the Central Valley, established a $500 million cap on new Can and Invest (Cap-and-Invest) expenditures for investments outside the Central Valley segment. While well intentioned and focused on concentrating resources toward the delivery of an initial operating system, this legislation has now become an obstacle to private investment in the project. Because it provides a stable and reliable means of repayment, the $1 billion in guaranteed annual funding passed during the 2025 legislative session has allowed the high-speed rail project to partner with infrastructure investors owned by La Caisse, a global investment group managing $370 billion in Quebec public pension fund assets, to explore major high-speed rail investment opportunities outside the Central Valley. But without reforms to the investment cap in SB 198, private investment opportunities will be limited, as California High-Speed Rail will not be able to provide public matching funds toward pre-construction activities including utility relocations and land acquisition.
%20(1).avif)
