Napa Valley , California ( CNN ) -- It is the quintessential Napa Valley experience . Passengers aboard sleek antique rail cars pay more than $ 100 for a four-course meal , not including the wine . A recent lunch aboard the train included steak , lobster cakes and local greens . During their three-hour journey winding through Napa Valley , passengers can choose from more than 100 wines to complement their meal . The Napa Valley Wine Train has been shuttling passengers through one of the country 's most famous valleys for more than two decades , but now it 's under fire because of Republican Sens . Tom Coburn and John McCain . They ranked the wine train as No . 11 on their list of the 100 most `` wasteful '' and `` silly '' stimulus projects , leading some to call it the Stimulus Waste Express . When Melodie Hilton , who handles public relations for the wine train , learned about that nickname , she was less than pleased . Hilton said the report temporarily affected business . She said through a smile , `` it 's never fun to wake up and find that you 're an object of national scorn . '' But CNN found that scorn undeserved . In fact , CNN confirmed that not a single stimulus dollar is being spent on the wine train itself . The stimulus money is really being used for a massive flood-control project for the valley . The train 's tracks happen to be in the way , so they have to be moved . It is a simple fix , but it 's not cheap . To make it happen , $ 54 million is being used to build a flood wall at the wine train depot , elevate the tracks and move them 33 feet , and raise four bridges . How did the wine train end up on the list of wasteful projects ? `` The person who did the research for the senators did n't do a thorough job , '' Hilton said , `` and I think if they did a thorough job , we would n't have been on the list at all . '' Barry Martin is the spokesman for the Napa River Flood Control Project . He called the senators ' report `` deliberate deception '' and a way to score `` political points . '' Martin says this is not a `` frivolous project '' or a waste of stimulus dollars . `` This is perfectly fitting into what stimulus is intended to do . People are on the job working today who might not be otherwise , '' Martin said . Coburn 's spokesman said the whole project is a `` misplaced priority . '' He also criticized it for being a `` no-bid '' project , meaning only one contractor was considered . Just how many people are employed on the project is ambiguous . Martin says that at least 600 jobs have been created for the whole thing . And those people , he says , will stay on the job two to three years . The Army Corps of Engineers , which is overseeing the flood control initiative , said that every $ 1 million spent creates about 20 jobs but said it did n't have an exact figure of jobs for the project . And the contractor , Suulutaaq , had reported just 12 jobs created to the White House . A spokeswoman said the company expects that 200 people will be employed over the life of the project . Regardless , the goal is to prevent Napa from flooding every few years , as it does now . In 1986 , a flood cost the city $ 100 million . In 2005 , flood damage hit $ 115 million . Hilton , who has lived through the floods in Napa Valley and recalls neighborhoods under feet of water , wrote a letter to McCain : `` Since you have thrown down the gauntlet , and made accusations , I would like to demand satisfaction ! ... Talk to the officials behind this project ; learn what is really going on . It is your right and your responsibility . '' `` We all have the same goal , '' she later said . `` Nobody appreciates waste . If he came out and explored this , I do n't think this would have been on the list . '' CNN 's Susan Chun contributed to this report .
U.S. senators claimed Wine Train received stimulus funds . CNN found stimulus funds are not used for the train ; money is for flood - control project . Sen. Tom Ridge 's spokesman calls project ` ` misplaced priority '' The latest on the controversy over the wine train on tonight 's ` ` AC ' s , '' 10 News .