A former Federal Railroad Administration deputy administrator, Cliff Eby, has been named interim program director for the California high-speed rail project. The California high-speed rail project, with an estimated total price tag of $40 billion, envisions 220-mph passenger trains connecting San Francisco with Los Angeles.

Eby, who was deputy to FRA administrator Joseph Boardman (now CEO of Amtrak), and later acting FRA administrator, replaces Tony Daniels, who announced his departure from the directorship. Daniels will continue to work on California high-speed rail projects nationwide for the engineering consulting firm of Parsons Brinkerhoff.

Eby departed the FRA in 2009 to become a senior executive with Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Eby said he will hold the post of interim director until "a long-term replacement" is selected. Earlier in his career, Eby was director of finance and statistics for the Association of American Railroads and worked on the $2-billion Northeast Corridor Improvement Program and on sections of the Washington, D.C. subway system.