San Francisco — The Federal Rail Administration has canceled a set of California grants, including a $25 million safety grant that had been awarded in late 2024 for the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) portal project, Executive Director Ting reported Sept. 30. Ting said TJPA had planned to use the grant to advance work on the track and systems contract for the portal; with the cancelation, the project team is working to identify alternative funding sources and is considering a change to the sequencing of contract packages.
Why it matters: The canceled grant was intended to support a safety-related contract package for the Transbay portal, a component of rail connections in the city. Ting said the grant award had been made in late 2024 and that the cancellation requires immediate reassessment of funding and sequencing for near-term procurement and delivery.
Discussion vs. decision: The board received the update as information only; Ting reported that staff and the project team are pursuing alternative funding and potential re-sequencing. No board action or formal direction was recorded at the meeting.
Context: The announcement followed the board’s other federal funding news — notably the FHWA obligation for the Golden Gate retrofit. Ting said the portal project team will revise plans to try to mitigate the funding gap.