The California governor’s office on Tuesday announced nearly $1.3 billion to fund passenger rail service and clean transportation projects across the state.
The funding is intended to help prevent major service cuts, expand zero-emission bus fleets, and improve rail connections to jobs and schools, according to the governor’s office.
The state is issuing 28 awards through its Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and State Rail Assistance program. The announcement coincided with Governor Gavin Newsom and a state delegation traveling to Türkiye for the United Nations climate conference, COP31.
The largest investment is $750 million for a project extending Caltrain approximately two miles from Fourth and King streets to the Salesforce Transit Center in downtown San Francisco. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority leads the project.
In Southern California, a $20 million investment will help Metrolink avoid proposed service reductions of 29% on weekdays and 40% on weekends compared with its 2025 schedule. The governor’s office said the funds will maintain service through summer 2028, when the region hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The state expects Metrolink and its participating agencies to find lasting solutions to their budget problems as a condition of the funding, the announcement said.
The awards will also fund more than 75 zero-emission buses and microtransit vehicles for agencies in Santa Monica, Sacramento, Marin County, Merced County, and other communities. Additional projects include introducing tap-to-pay fares across Metrolink, replacing aging railroad signals near Davis Station, and funding a battery-electric train pilot between San Jose and Gilroy.
Both state programs receive funding through Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program also receives funding through California’s Cap-and-Invest program.