High inflation and supply chain issues are some of the reasons California’s long-delayed high-speed rail system will cost up to nearly $10 billion more to complete, agency officials reported (pdf) this week.
The California High Speed Rail Authority now estimates the bullet train will cost up to nearly $100 billion, according to the report published March 1. Officials said they also expect fewer riders on the 500-mile system from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim.
“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chains and the resulting market instability and inflation have impacted prices for construction commodities like concrete and steel as well as labor,” Brian Kelly, the authority’s CEO, said in the report….