Banks May Balk at Financing $68 Billion California Bullet Train
- Market would struggle to raise $35.5 billion, contractor says
- Vendors solicited by state say revenue projections uncertain
Artists rendering of the proposed high-speed rail system in California.
Source: California High-Speed Rail AuthorityThis article is for subscribers only.
California is counting on private companies to kick in as much as $35.5 billion toward the most expensive public-works project in U.S. history, a proposed high-speed rail line linking San Francisco with Los Angeles. Banks and other contractors who’ve studied the plan say not so fast.
Even as builders clear land and begin work on viaducts near Fresno for the bullet train’s initial segment, financiers solicited by the state rail agency are calling on California to pitch in more than the $10 billion in bond funds already committed in order to give potential investors confidence that the project will become reality.