Newsom Announces $690 Million Grants To Fund Electric Trains, Buses And Ferries

By Ria Roebuck Joseph | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square California

April 25, 2023

(The Center Square) - More than 28 climate-friendly projects to expand transit and passenger rail services throughout the state have been awarded funding to meet California’s 2045 goals of 71% reduction in air pollution and 94% drop of gas consumption from current levels. Trains will become an integral part of passenger transportation in California.

The projects, mostly benefitting disadvantaged communities, boast of reducing greenhouse gasses equivalent to removing over 445,000 gas-run cars from the streets.

“Our state is placing a high priority on investing in public transportation projects that aim to shift away from fossil fuels while making public travel more rider friendly,” Newsom said. “Today’s announcement not only provides better travel alternatives but also helps to speed up our transition to a cleaner, healthier transportation future for all Californians.”

The grants totaling $690 million are administered by the California State Transportation Agency as part of a $3.2 billion investment in public transportation. The transportation agency is supported by the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), which in turn gets its funding from the Cap-and-Trade program and the General Fund for High Priority Grade Crossing Improvement and Separation projects. Together with January’s investment of $2.54 billion, total funding for California’s public transportation projects is more than $3.2 billion since the start of the year.

“California is making a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment to transform and modernize our transportation infrastructure, creating jobs, alternatives to driving and reducing pollution,” Newsom said.

The highest grant was $100 million to San Dieguito Bridge Replacement, Double Track and Special Events Platform Project which is just under half the price tag of about $231 million. The funds will be used to replace the aging wooden trestle San Dieguito Lagoon rail bridge, construct a special events platform for the Del Mar Fairgrounds and construct 0.3 miles of new main track, and siding rehabilitation / track improvements to 0.9 miles of siding track to create a total of 1.2 miles of new usable double track.

A number of grants would be used in part to purchase zero-emissions buses and develop several high-priority mobility hubs and rail projects as part of the state’s transit system.

One of the more interesting projects comes from the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority which proposes to expand electrical infrastructure to allow for expansion of electric propelled, zero‐emission ferry service along the Main Street Alameda-Oakland to San Francisco route utilizing 3 zero emission expansion ferries and conversion to zero emission for existing vessels.

Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez noted, “These funding awards help expand the availability of transit options near housing, and especially affordable housing, and provide people the freedom to more easily access jobs, health care, schools and, ultimately, create greater economic opportunity.”

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