USA: The California High Speed Rail Authority is seeking external specialists in a range of rail-related disciplines to attend a bespoke forum in late January as speculation mounts about the prospects of the project under the incoming Trump administration.
Media outlets in California have reported that the government due to take office in January under President-elect Donald Trump is proposing to axe future federal funding for the California High Speed Rail Authority. CHSRA is the promoter of the project which is intended eventually to provide a high speed line between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Recent articles in both the Sacramento Bee newspaper and on the California Globe website have suggested that the proposed Department of Government Efficiency, due to be co-chaired by billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, will seek to withdraw federal funding from the project.
Citing a posting in late November from Ramaswamy on Musk-owned social media platform X that the Californian high speed project ‘is a wasteful vanity project, burning billions in taxpayer cash, with little prospect of completion in the next decade’, the articles highlighted cost increases and construction delays.
Costs rise
A June 2023 report prepared by the University of Washington and Challenge Seattle entitled Keeping it on the Tracks said that ‘what was estimated at $33bn in 2008 rose to a phase one estimated cost in 2022 that ranges from $92∙8bn to $94∙2bn, an increase of more than 180%’.
These figures differ from those cited in the post on X, which said that the projected cost had reached ‘between $88∙5bn and $127∙9bn’. The post also noted that the ‘estimated completion date was 2020; as of 2024, zero passengers have been transported and the majority has not even been fully designed’.
The post quickly attracted other opponents of US high speed rail projects, including Representative Kevin Kiley, a member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, who followed up with his own comment: ‘the Department of Government Efficiency has homed in on the single greatest example of waste and inefficiency in American history: California’s “High Speed” Rail. I look forward to killing this project, once and for all.’
The Sacramento Bee went on to cite Representative John Garamendi, also a member of the Committee, who argued that ‘the billionaires are being given an incredible amount of influence over government spending decisions’. He noted that ‘ultimately the Republicans have the majority of seats in the committee and in the House of Representatives’, pointing out that ‘even if the money was approved by the House, it would still need to clear the Senate, where Republicans will control 53 of the 100 seats next year’. Garemendi then suggested that there were [at that point] 45 days left ‘to secure the funding of not only high speed rail but every other programme of federal transportation and other green energy programmes’.
Progress in the Central Valley
By mid-2024 progress with the initial 275 km Merced – Bakersfield route, 190 km of which is under construction, had reached the point when Systra and Typsa had been appointed to design the track and overhead electrification under a $131∙2m contract.
CHSRA said on December 10 that ‘there are more than 30 active construction sites and nearly 50 completed structures in California’s Central Valley’, stating that ‘full environmental clearance’ has been obtained for 463 miles (745 km) of the high speed rail programme ‘from the Bay Area to downtown Los Angeles’.
In August 2023 CHSRA had started the process for acquiring an initial fleet of six 355 km/h electric trainsets, two of which were to be delivered for trials in 2028.
Expertise sought
Meanwhile, CHSRA is redoubling its efforts to secure additional expertise from the global high speed rail community.
On January 30-31, the authority plans to hold a two-day forum aimed at rail specialists where attendees will hear the latest progress in the programme and join in a series of discussions on technical topics.
Announcing the forum on December 7, CHSRA said it was ‘specifically’ seeking ‘industry leaders and innovators to join us for in-depth, one-on-one discussions. The goal of such meetings will be for the authority to obtain expert industry feedback on critical technical topics.’
Topics for discussion in a one-to-one format are:
- Funding & Financing (including private investment);
- Track design, construction and installation;
- Rail manufacturers
- Tunnelling;
- Power generation/renewable energy;
- Utilities investigation;
- Geotech;
- Infrastructure costs estimation;
- Maintenance & operations;
- Rail systems;
- Bridges and structures;
- Systems integration.
Potential attendees are asked to contact CAHSR directly.
