On 5th December 2023, the US Department of Transportation (USDoT) awarded the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) approx. €2.87 billion (US$3.1 billion) in funding to continue progress on the first electrified high-speed rail (HSR) line. The funds, made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), are the largest that USDoT has received to date and are intended to help the project progress. The funds are intended to advance work in California's Central Valley and include funding for six high-speed trains (HST), train facility design, Fresno station design and construction, and final design and early phase work, including right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation on the extensions to Merced and Bakersfield.
