California to get $2.25 billion in high-speed rail funding

Overall, the Obama administration plans to distribute $8 billion for work on 13 rail corridors. Those include a Midwest line from Chicago to St. Louis and one in Florida running from Tampa to Orlando.

Trains on the proposed Anaheim-to-San Francisco line, which is projected to cost about $42 billion, would whisk passengers the 400 or so miles in no more than 2 hours, 40 minutes. The project would take a decade to complete, with extensions to San Diego and Sacramento planned.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will announce the funding today during an appearance in Tampa. Administration officials will be in other parts of the country to tout the grants as a job-creation measure at a time when Democrats are increasingly anxious about losing congressional seats in the upcoming midterm elections.

The money will help "lay the groundwork for a nationwide infrastructure expansion that will spur economic growth in communities across the country, provide faster and more energy-efficient means of travel, and establish a new industry in the U.S. that provides stable, well-paid jobs," a White House official said Wednesday.