Trump administration to review US$100bn California High-Speed Rail

Map of the proposed California High-Speed Rail system (Image: California High-Speed Rail Authority)

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will oversee the review, according to the DOT.

Early in his administration, US President Donald Trump expressed interest in investigating the sprawling California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) scheme, which seeks to connect some of the state’s largest major metro areas; specifically Los Angeles (in the south) with the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento in the north.

These portions of construction were to take place in different phases, with an ‘Initial Operating Segment (IOS)’ from Bakersfield to Merced to be built first followed by Phase 1 and 2 (connecting the IOS to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento).

As recently as January, California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a State Rail Plan which sought to invest more than $300 billion for a system that stretches as far south as San Diego and to communities north of San Francisco and Sacramento.

The Bakersfield to Merced connection was of specific concern to the DOT. The agency said, “This review will help determine whether roughly $4 billion in taxpayer money should remain committed to the proposed project to build high-speed rail in the California Central Valley between Merced and Bakersfield.”

California’s US$310bn high-speed mass rail system plan The US State of California has announced a massive plan for a new rail network

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy called the project “over-budget”, “delayed” and “in dire need of investigation” in a DOT release.

“That is why I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the CHSRA has followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding,” Duffy added.

The DOT did not immediately respond to questions from Construction Briefing.

Cost escalation has held back California’s High-Speed Rail project

A recently completed crossing, constructed by Dragados-Flatiron Joint Venture, which is part of the CAHSR project. (Image: California High-Speed Rail Authority)

The ballooning cost to construct the CAHSR system – designed to stretch out almost 800 miles (more than 1,200km) from San Francisco to Los Angeles – was cited by Duffy as an overarching concern.

“The entire San Francisco to Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion,” the DOT said. “Today, the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment alone would cost more than the original total.”

Construction begins on $12bn Brightline West high-speed rail project Construction on the $12 billion Brightline West high-speed railway, linking Las Vegas and southern California has officially started.

The DOT said the latest projection for rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles is $106 billion, “more than three times the original cost estimate.” Recent news reports suggested the entire project was in the range of costing approximately $90 billion more than planned, to a total cost of nearly $130 billion.

“In March of 2023, the CHSRA Peer Review Group, charged with evaluating CHSRA’s funding plans, reported an ‘unfunded gap of $92.6 billion to $103.1 billion between estimated costs and known state and federal funding’ for the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles connection,” the agency noted. “Given the red flags raised about this project, FRA will investigate the delays and cost overruns through a compliance and performance review.”

The DOT, in the same press release, recognised a privately-funded project designed to link with the CAHSR system: the Brightline West scheme, which seeks to connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Nevada.

The challenges of building California High-Speed Rail

“The slow progress by CHSRA contrasts with the impressive work of Brightline West to build a high-speed rail system,” said the DOT. The Brightline West project is being developed by owner Fortress Investment Group, a US-based investment management firm.

The Brightline West project is more than 70% smaller (at 218 miles) than the Los Angeles to San Francisco route but is estimated to cost around $12 billion to construct.

Brightline West plans to begin service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in 2028.

The CAHSR Los Angeles to San Francisco phase was expected to open between 2030 and 2033, although the federal investigation may cause additional delays or lead to cancellation.

Construction contractors reported working on the CAHSR project include Tutor Perini, Zachry, and Parsons JV; Dragados USA and Flatiron Construction; California Rail Builders (Ferrovial Agroman West and Griffith Company JV).

CHSRA said around 120 miles of rail is currently under construction, more than 60 miles of guideway has been completed and an estimated 25 construction sites are currently active.