Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
I mean, it kinda does. The infrastructure bill included $102B for rail.
https://railroads.dot.gov/BIL
Other funding programs are mode-neutral but can be used for rail or transit, like MEGA or RAISE, so the total $$ spent on rail will be somewhat higher than $102B. |
That's $102 Billion allocated over 5 years, or around $20 Billion allocated each year.
Amtrak this year has been appropriated $19 Billion, so there is little left for building anything else. But there is money for further planning this year.
But if Amtrak appropriates around $20 Billion every year for the next 5 years, it will consume around $100 Billion of that $102 Billion.
So, for all practical purposes, the funding just continues what Amtrak has been getting recently.
No $20 Billion for California HSR, Texas Central HSR, or Brightline HSR.
Note, when it comes to Federal budgets, allocation does not mean appropriation which is granted every year.
An allocation is a promise to spend up to a certain dollar amount, but the actual spending is appropriated each and every year. Congress can appropriate more or less each year than promised, but a GOP House next year will be looking for cuts, and guess what will probably be amongst the first cuts?