The California High-Speed Rail system is being constructed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). The project is expected to span about and will be completed in two phases:

Phase 1 (totaling about ) runs from the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California to Greater Los Angeles in southern California. It has been partially funded and is under construction mainly in the San Joaquin Valley since 2015, as well as in "bookend" investments in the two metropolitan areas. Phase 2 is a future extension of the system north to Sacramento, and south through the Inland Empire to San Diego.

Overview of project segments

Due to the project being only partially funded, the Authority is completing the environmental clearance of Phase 1 and focusing construction activity on the Early Operating Segment (EOS) in the Central Valley. The EOS is intended to be a self-contained and financially self-sustaining high-speed rail system, improving on and replacing the existing Amtrak Gold Runner service between Merced and Bakersfield. As funding becomes available, the Authority plans to extend the system to San Francisco in the northwest, and subsequently southwards to Los Angeles and Anaheim.

To deliver operational segments of high-speed rail, the Authority must seek environmental clearance, followed by design and civil construction, then track and systems installation, and static and dynamic testing.

+ Phase 1 status by segment Section Corridor type Environmental clearance Funding Civil construction Track & systems San Francisco to San Jose Blended (Caltrain) data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="1" data-sort-value="1" data-sort-value="1" San Jose to Gilroy data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" Gilroy to Madera data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" Merced Extension Dedicated high-speed data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="3" data-sort-value="3" data-sort-value="0" Madera to Fresno data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="5" data-sort-value="4" data-sort-value="0" Fresno to Tulare/Kern data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="5" data-sort-value="4" data-sort-value="0" Tulare/Kern to Poplar Ave data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="5" data-sort-value="5" data-sort-value="0" Poplar Ave to Bakersfield data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="4" data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="0" Bakersfield to Palmdale data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" Palmdale to Burbank data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" Burbank to Los Angeles Blended (Metrolink, Amtrak, and freight) data-sort-value="2" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" Los Angeles to Anaheim data-sort-value="1" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0" data-sort-value="0"

History of construction

Major construction milestones On December 2, 2010, the Authority Board of Directors voted to begin construction on the first section of the system (in the Central Valley). On July 19, 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation approving construction of the high-speed system. On January 6, 2015, the City of Fresno hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the commencement of sustained construction activities. On January 6, 2025, groundbreaking for the railhead was held outside of Bakersfield, in a ceremony marking the substantive completion of CP 4 and the beginning of laying track. On November 26, 2025, the Authority Board of Directors officially opened a request for proposals for tracking and systems procurement for the entire Central Valley IOS from the Merced Extension to downtown Bakersfield. https://hsr.ca.gov/2025/11/26/news-release-california-high-speed-rail-authority-moves-closer-to-track-and-systems/

Past projected construction timelines The 2008 Business Plan projected that construction for the entire project would be completed by 2030.

The 2012 Business Plan projected HSR service between Los Angeles and San Francisco would not be available until 2029.

The 2016 Business Plan projected:

By 2018: The Initial Construction Segment (ICS) would be completed – – Merced to Bakersfield. By 2022: Initial Operating Section (IOS) would be completed – – Merced to Burbank By 2027: Bay to Basin would be completed – – San Jose & Merced to Burbank By 2029: Phase 1 Blended would be completed – – San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim

The 2018 Business Plan projected HSR service between Los Angeles and San Francisco will not be available until 2033.

The 2020 Business Plan projected HSR service between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley would be operational by late 2031, and that service between Los Angeles and San Francisco will be operational in 2033.Draft 2020 Business Plan

The 2022 Business Plan does not have a projected timeline for completion of any of the segments other than the Interim IOS, recognizing that financial constraints make such an estimate unpredictable. Table 5.0 gives estimates of costs to finish the construction in year of expenditure dollars, but assumes that there would be no major delays.2022 Business Plan. Chapter 5

Initial construction approvals On December 2, 2010, the Authority Board of Directors voted to begin construction on the first section of the system from Madera to Fresno, known as the Initial Construction Segment (ICS). Five "construction packages" were initially planned for this section. With the Design-Build contractual system the Authority was using, the contractor would be responsible for the final construction design elements, following the guidelines and specifications of the contract. The intent of this (as explained by Dan Richard, chair of the Authority) was to minimize last minute design change orders arising during the construction process (which tend to add to expenses and slow construction).

On December 20, 2010, due to the infusion of an additional $616 million in federal funds reallocated from states that canceled their high-speed rail plans, the initial segment of construction was extended to Bakersfield. Another $300 million was reallocated on May 9, 2011, extending the funded portion north to the future Chowchilla Wye (where trains can be turned).

In September 2012, the Obama administration gave California's high-speed rail project the green light to streamline the permitting process for the section of the project which starts just north of Fresno in Madera County and runs south to Bakersfield.

On August 12, 2014, the federal Surface Transportation Board approved the HSR route from Fresno to Bakersfield. This was the final approval needed before beginning construction.

Also, on December 15, 2014, the federal Surface Transportation Board determined (using well-understood preemption rules) that its approval of the HSR project in August "categorically preexempts" lawsuits filed under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This cleared the last obstacle before construction could begin. However, this supposition is still being tested in the California courts in a similar case, Friends of Eel River v. North Coast Railroad Authority.

On June 10, 2015, the Authority authorized a "Rail Delivery Partner" contract to be negotiated and signed by the CEO, valued at up to $700 million, for services through 2022. This is a successor to the support provided by the current Project Management Team contract. The RDP will provide engineering and management services to see the project from a planning mode into a construction mode. The RDP partnership under the lead of Parsons Brinckerhoff includes Network Rail Consulting (the international consulting arm of the UK rail authority) and LeighFisher (a global management firm with extensive experience in infrastructure and advisory services). The other partnership competing was under Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation.

Central Valley Construction

As of October 2024, active construction in the Central Valley has been ongoing on of high-speed right-of-way with a design speed of . These 119 miles are constructed by three different consortia, split into so-called "construction packages (CPs)": CP 1, CP 2-3, and CP 4. The full "initial operating segment (IOS)" in the Central Valley will stretch , with its remaining segments under advanced design and construction contracts yet to be awarded.

Initial contracts awards (119 miles)

CP 1. On August 20, 2013, the joint venture of Tutor Perini/Zachry/Parsons executed a design-build contract for the initial Madera to Fresno segment, about long. The contract is valued at approximately $985 million, plus an additional $53 million in provisional sums. Construction was originally expected to begin in 2013, but was delayed by the slow pace of property acquisition.

CP 2-3. Dragados of Spain, with Flatiron West of San Marcos, and Jacobs Engineering of Oakland, won the bid for the second design-build construction package on December 11, 2014. Dragados/Flatiron/Jacobs submitted a bid of $1,365,335,890 to design and build the stretch from the south end of Fresno to near the Tulare-Kern county line and was deemed the "apparent best value" bidder by the Authority.Interview of Dan Richard by James Fallows at Bold Bets conference on February 25, 2015 The winning bid came well below the range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion that was forecast by engineers and consultants working for the rail authority due to their innovative plan for cutting-and-filling instead of more expensive construction alternatives. This plan however was deemed impossible due to soil and hydrological conditions on site and the plan was reverted to its original designs.

CP 4. Five construction teams competed for this segment. This section was estimated to cost $400–500 million. In January 2016 the apparent best value bid of $347.5 million (about $50 to $150 less than the estimated cost) was received from California Rail Builders (a consortium led by Ferrovial Agroman US Corp, an American subsidiary of Spain's Ferrovial S.A., also including Eurostudios, a Spanish engineering firm, and Othon Inc., a Houston-based engineering and environmental consulting company). The California Rail Builders bid was $347.5 million. The contract awarded includes an additional $107 million for utility relocation costs for electric, gas and communication lines. This project has had the least issues out of all of the current construction packages and is set to be completed by late 2023.

This package was shortened by about to a length of due to disputes with the cities of Bakersfield and Shafter. The construction segment now ends on the north side of Shafter due to the need to negotiate routes through Shafter and northern Bakersfield. The agreement between the cities and the Authority gave the parties until January 2016 to come up with the new alignment. The Poplar Avenue to Bakersfield Locally Generated Alternative was signed by the Authority's CEO on October 31, 2019, and as of May 2022, geotechnical work has begun taking place.

Central Valley extensions (52 miles) In August 2022, contracts for advanced design work, right-of-way mapping, and identification of utility relocation work in the Merced-Madera and the Shafter to Bakersfield (Locally Generated Alternative) segments were approved. Construction will only begin once the design and land has been acquired. This reflects a change from the approach taken with the first four construction packages. Utility relocations will also begin as land is purchased to speed the construction process and avoid delays.

The Merced to Madera extension design contract ($41 million) was awarded to Stantec Consulting Services Inc., for approximately 33.9 mi. with 40 structures. The Shafter to Bakersfield (Locally Generated Alternative) extension design contract ($44.9 million) was awarded to HNTB for approximately 18.5 mi. with 31 structures. These design contracts are expected to last into 2024.

Rail facilities and stations