California High-Speed Rail

California High-Speed Rail is a large public-works project led by the State of California. Phase 1 would link San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim — 494 miles (795 km) — through San José, the Central Valley and Palmdale, with 12 stations. Proposition 1A, approved by voters in November 2008, requires a system capable of at least 200 mph and a San Francisco–Los Angeles trip of no more than 2 hours 40 minutes; the design speed is 220 mph (350 km/h). A later Phase 2 would extend the network north to Sacramento and south to San Diego.

Work is concentrated in the Central Valley, where 119 miles of guideway are under construction between Madera and the outskirts of Bakersfield. As of late October 2026 the Authority reported more than 90 miles of guideway and 70 major structures completed. In June 2026 its board approved a joint venture of Kiewit, Stacy Witbeck and Herzog to install track, overhead catenary and train-control systems, and in October 2026 a contract with Siemens Mobility for the first three trainsets. The first passenger service is planned between Merced and Bakersfield; the 2026 Business Plan moves both end stations, shortening that segment from 171 to 162 miles, which requires a change in state law. With the approval of the Los Angeles–Anaheim section in October 2026, all 494 miles of Phase 1 are environmentally cleared.

The project has drawn sustained political debate over cost, schedule and funding. The adopted 2026 Business Plan puts Phase 1 at about $126 billion on a reduced scope that assumes shared tracks in places and some segments built by other agencies; the Authority estimates the original scope at about $231 billion in today's dollars. In July 2025 the federal government terminated about $4 billion in grants, and the state now relies mainly on its cap-and-invest program.

The Authority says the system will be powered by 100% renewable energy.

California's two largest metropolitan regions, the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles, are linked mainly by Interstate 5, US-101 and frequent short-haul flights. The Authority says high-speed rail would offer an electrified alternative to congested roads and airports, and connect Central Valley cities such as Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield to coastal job markets.

The modern program dates to 1996, when the Legislature created the California High-Speed Rail Authority. In November 2008 voters approved Proposition 1A with about 53% of the vote: $9 billion in bonds for high-speed rail, plus $950 million for connecting rail services. The Authority also presents the line as a way to help meet the state's greenhouse-gas reduction targets.

The line is designed as an electrified railway with overhead catenary and train-control systems. The design speed is 220 mph (350 km/h), and the trainsets are to be tested up to 242 mph (389 km/h). To cut costs, the reduced-scope plan assumes single track on most of the initial Central Valley segment (144 of 162 miles, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office) and shared tracks with existing rail lines in some sections.

The Authority shortlisted Alstom and Siemens Mobility in January 2024. In October 2026 its board approved a $772.1 million contract with Siemens Mobility — the only bidder to submit a final proposal — for three seven-car trainsets with at least 450 seats each, the first due for testing in the Central Valley by early 2030, plus ten years of maintenance and options for 19 more.

The hardest engineering lies in the mountain crossings, none of which is funded yet. The planned Pacheco Pass tunnel, between the Bay Area and the Central Valley, would be about 13.5 miles (22 km) long; the Authority says it would be the longest intercity rail tunnel in the United States. The approved Bakersfield–Palmdale alignment across the Tehachapi Mountains calls for about nine tunnels.

Construction activity is concentrated in the Central Valley. The Authority reports about 122,000 job-years of employment and about $24.6 billion in economic output from mid-2006 to mid-2025, with an average of 1,400 workers on its construction sites each day in 2025.

A forecast made before the 2026 change of scope projected about 28.4 million annual riders for the full Phase 1 system in 2040; the 2026 Business Plan expects 1.5 to 1.9 million riders a year on the first Merced–Bakersfield segment. The Authority argues the line would connect the Central Valley's lower-cost housing to the job markets of the Bay Area and Los Angeles; the Legislative Analyst's Office has warned that available funding may not be sufficient for the first segment once borrowing costs are included.

The Authority says the system will be powered by 100% renewable energy, and projects that the full system would avoid more than 100 million metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions over its operating life.

According to its 2024 Sustainability Report, the Authority has diverted most of its construction waste from landfill, preserved more than 4,400 acres of habitat and protected more than 3,400 acres of farmland as mitigation; the program received an Envision Platinum sustainability rating in 2020. The alignment crosses farmland and habitat in the San Joaquin Valley and required extensive land acquisition.

Cost estimates have risen from about $33.6 billion at the time of the 2008 vote to $68.4 billion for Phase 1 in 2012 and about $126 billion in the 2026 Business Plan, although these figures cover different scopes and dollar years. The opening of a first operating segment, once expected in the early 2020s, has moved into the 2030s. In July 2026 the Authority's own Inspector General said the Merced–Bakersfield schedule window could extend to September 2034 and that current funding could run out as early as December 2027 without new financing; the Federal Railroad Administration had earlier said the segment could not be completed by 2033.

In July 2025 the U.S. Department of Transportation terminated about $4 billion in federal grants, citing findings from a compliance review that included a funding gap of at least $7 billion on the Merced–Bakersfield segment; its announcement called the line a "train to nowhere". The Authority disputed the findings and sued, then dropped the lawsuit in December 2025, calling the federal government "not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy partner" and saying it would proceed with state funding.

The Authority points to 119 miles of guideway under construction, dozens of completed bridges and grade separations, and contracts for track, systems and trainsets as signs of progress. No segment yet carries passengers after about $15 billion spent through early 2026, according to the Authority's own figures, and the Legislative Analyst's Office has warned that available state funding may not cover the Merced–Bakersfield segment once borrowing costs are included.