(Source: California High-Speed Rail Authority press release, January 18, 2024)
New data released today by the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows investments in this first-in-the-nation project are continuing to provide billions in economic benefit to the state. The Authority’s 2023 Economic Impact Analysis Report shows the California high-speed rail project continues to be a proven job creator that bolsters the local economy, particularly disadvantaged communities.
“High-speed rail is leading the way toward the Golden State’s sustainable transportation future,” said Authority CFO Brian Annis. “With our continued partnership with the federal government and our local partners, investment in high-speed rail creates good-paying union jobs and generates income to some of California’s most vulnerable people and their communities.”
Ninety-nine percent of the project’s 2022-23 fiscal year expenditures has gone to California businesses and workers, with two of every three of those dollars going to disadvantaged communities, driving economic activity in these areas.
To close out 2023, the Authority marked a historic milestone, announcing the creation of more than 12,000 construction jobs since the start of project construction. Most of these jobs have gone to Central Valley residents. These numbers together are the result of the project’s total investment of more than $11.2 billion since 2006 in its planning and construction.
The Authority estimates the project has created a total of 92,000 job-years of employment, spurring $7 billion in total direct labor income earned by workers on the project and $18 billion in total economic activity. In 2023, the Authority posted a record high number of job-years contributing to the total, nearly 2,000 more than any other year since the project began.
Full story: www.hsr.ca.gov