The California High Speed Rail Authority Releases 2024 Draft Business Plan

The California High Speed Rail Authority has released their 2024 Draft Business Plan and are now accepting public comments. The plan lays out the progress made in 2023 and the steps the Authority plans to make towards high-speed rail service in 2024. 

“This 2024 Business Plan reflects a transformative transportation mega-project on the move, with a renewed federal partnership. This plan provides policymakers and the public with a look at the promise, challenges, risks, and opportunities that are behind us and before us. The last year saw project advancement like no year prior but make no mistake — just as the country was built, it will take courage, imagination, and an unbeatable determination to complete this job at hand.”

– Brian Kelly, Chief Executive Office, California High Speed Rail Authority

Progress made on the high-speed rail project in 2023:

• Awarded $3.3 billion in new federal funds to advance work on the initial operating segment between Merced and Bakersfield.
• Advanced procurements to move the project from construction into operations, including the procurements to purchase electrified trains, to design the track and systems, and to bolster engineering services in their rail operations division.
• Construction covering 22.5 miles in the Central Valley reached substantial completion.
• Completed 10 new structures and set records for daily workers on job sites.
• The percentage of right-of-way parcels acquired reached 98%.
• The designs for the extensions to Merced and Bakersfield, as well as the four Central Valley stations are on schedule.

Project goals in 2024:

• Continue construction and early operations work in the Central Valley.
• Pursue funding to advance design and geotechnical work on the segments to the Bay Area and into the Los Angeles Basin.
• Work with Brightline and the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority to identify, optimize and ensure interoperability among the systems.
• Release a new Request for Expression of Interest for private parties to participate in project funding for segments between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• Work with Early Train Operator and other experts to holistically evaluate Phase 1 costs and construction methods to ensure efficiency as the project expands.

Download the PDF of the California High Speed Rail Authority’s 2024 Draft Business Plan

Make a public comment on the plan here