California secures $54.5M grant to build Madera high-speed rail station

The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) secured $54.5 million in federal funding through the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant's (MPDG) National Infrastructure Project Assistance program, known as a Mega grant, to build the Madera high-speed rail station project.

The funding will support construction of the Madera Amtrak Station site along Avenue 12, transforming it into the Madera HSR station, SJJPA officials said Oct. 30 in a press release. The station will serve Madera County and northern Fresno County as part of the California HSR early operating segment (EOS) between Merced and Bakersfield.

“This station’s construction is a critical component of the Merced-Bakersfield early operating segment of the California high speed rail system. The project is planned to be completed by 2030,” SJJPA officials said.

The California high-speed rail early operating segment will run in each direction from Merced to Bakersfield, with stations at Madera, Fresno and Kings/Tulare. It will be integrated at the Merced high-speed rail station with Amtrak San Joaquins trains and ACE commuter-rail services.

The grant will fund design and construction of station infrastructure. Mega program grants, which fall under the MPDG grant program, are intended to support major, complex infrastructure projects that generate significant economic, mobility and safety benefits on a national or regional scale.