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California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project has another lawsuit on its hands after community organizations sued the state Wednesday over a widely-panned new station in the Central Valley.
Organizations including the Community Alliance for a Sustainable Economy accused the rail authority of violating state law by moving a planned station from downtown Merced to a remote spot four miles away — pitching the relocated station a “Gateway to Yosemite.”
“We call on the High-Speed Rail Authority to stop bypassing public engagement and the legislative process,” said Jorge Luna of community organization Valley Voices.
“As one of the largest public investments in the state’s history, it is inexcusable that the High-Speed Rail Authority continues to make decisions behind closed doors and exclude the voices of those most impacted by the development of the high-speed rail system,” he added.
According to the complaint, the High-Speed Rail Authority in the summer issued a request for firms to provide designing and building services for the segment of the rail from Merced to Madera. Those are two cities in the Central Valley, roughly 33 miles apart.
However, in that request, the route is characterized as running from south of Mission Avenue outside the City of Merced to Madera.
But that contradicts state law, the plaintiff alleged, which demands that there be “a new combined station in downtown Merced.”
The re-routing allegedly was first proposed in the rail’s new business plan this year. Debate over that plan included questions over whether the plan met all legal requirements, including regarding a new route.
The new, potentially cheaper-to-build route is likely related to the fact that the rail is facing a critical cash bottleneck and could run out of money by the end of 2027. The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Inspector General warned the project’s funds will run dry if it doesn’t secure more financing.
Still, that last minute-change, which the lawsuit said was made without approval from the legislature, will hurt the local economy, said Lety Valencia of community nonprofit Faith in the Valley.
“A downtown Merced Station would boost our local economy, increase our residents’ access to jobs and education and support efficient regional travel. An inaccessible station outside the city means that our residents and local businesses will miss out on most of the benefits promised to Central Valley station host communities,” she said.
“We brought this lawsuit to ensure the state fulfills its commitment to Merced and the entire Central Valley region,” she added.
Republican lawmakers have blasted the Yosemite pitch as “gaslighting.”
“This is an affront to taxpayers. No matter what way it is branded, the High-Speed Rail has been nothing but a colossal failure,” Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare) previously told The Post.
“Taxpayers continue to be swindled.”
The lawsuit calls for the rail authority to suspend all plans on the rerouted South Merced station and for the judge to declare that an environmental review law exemption issued for that location is invalid.
The California Post reached out to the High-Speed Rail Authority for comment.
The estimated cost of the train project has ballooned to a staggering $231 billion, according to one estimate, with completion now delayed until roughly 2039. However, the rail authority pegs the project cost at $126.3 billion after a reassessment this year.
With the money crunch, the state’s long-troubled bullet train could be forced to dramatically shrink its first operating segment, potentially leaving both Merced and Bakersfield off the initial route.