On October 28, 2026, the California High-Speed Rail Authority's board approved a $772.1 million contract with Siemens Mobility for the system's first three trainsets and signed off on the final environmental review for the Los Angeles–Anaheim leg. That vote completes environmental clearance for all 494 miles of the planned San Francisco–Los Angeles/Anaheim line, ending more than two decades of reviews. In the Central Valley, crews have been stockpiling ballast rock at about 2,000 tons a day ahead of laying the project's first section of track.
The same meeting cost the agency its chief executive. Ian Choudri resigned on October 28, less than three weeks after the board stripped his independent contracting authority over $595,600 in consultant travel expenses flagged by the state inspector general; the board named Department of Finance director Joe Stephenshaw interim CEO. A July inspector general review warned the authority exhausts its construction money in December 2027 without new financing, against a full-system cost now estimated at $126 billion to $231 billion.
Why it matters
If California can finish even the Central Valley segment, it will be the first true high-speed rail line in the United States—proof, or refutation, that the country can still build big.
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Key Indicators
$126B–$231B
Estimated full Phase 1 cost
Range for completing the 494-mile San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim line, as reported in October 2026.
$772.1M
Siemens trainset contract
Base contract approved October 28, 2026 for three trainsets, with options for 19 more.
$34.8B
Merced–Bakersfield segment cost
Cumulative spending needed to open the 171-mile Central Valley starter line.
2033
Earliest passenger service
Target year for first revenue service on the Central Valley segment; trainsets due for testing there by early 2030.
90 mi
Guideway complete
Nearly 90 miles of guideway finished as of October 2026, along with 66 structures on the first 119 miles.
$1B/yr
Cap-and-trade funding through 2045
Annual state climate revenue dedicated to high-speed rail under the September 2025 extension.
$4B
Federal grants revoked
Funding pulled by the Trump administration in July 2025 after a Federal Railroad Administration review.
$9.5B
Funding gap through 2027
Shortfall the inspector general says must be closed before the authority runs out of construction money in December 2027.
23 events
Latest: October 29th, 2026 · 1 week ago
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October 2026
Joe Stephenshaw named interim CEO
LatestLeadership
The board voted unanimously to appoint Stephenshaw, who has led the state Department of Finance since July 2022, as interim chief executive.
Board approves $772.1 million Siemens trainset contract
Contract
Directors approved Siemens Mobility to design and build three trainsets, with options for more as the system expands. The first trainsets are due in the Central Valley for testing by early 2030.
Final environmental approval completes clearance for all 494 miles
Environmental
The board approved the final environmental document for the 30-mile Los Angeles-to-Anaheim section, clearing every mile of the Phase 1 route between San Francisco and Anaheim for construction.
CEO Ian Choudri resigns
Leadership
Choudri cited personal priorities in resigning, less than three weeks after the board curtailed his contracting authority over the consultant travel findings.
Following the travel-expense report, directors voted to remove Ian Choudri's authority to approve contracts on his own.
Authority reports 66 structures and nearly 90 miles of guideway complete
Construction
The authority said four newly finished structures brought the total to 66 along the first 119 miles, with 30 more under construction across Madera, Fresno and Kings counties.
Crews stockpile ballast ahead of first track
Construction
Ballast rock and cable troughs arrived at the Central Valley site at about 2,000 tons of rock per day, the layer that has to be in place before rail is laid.
September 2026
Inspector general finds $595,600 in unallowable consultant travel
Audit
The rail authority's Office of the Inspector General reported that contract managers approved travel expenses that state rules did not allow, including upgraded flights and personal trips.
August 2026
Authority halves trainset order and drops Buy America terms
Procurement
A procurement notice confirmed no contract had been executed and cut the order from six trainsets to three, with options for 19 more carrying no guarantee. It also removed federal domestic-preference requirements after the federal grant for trainsets was withdrawn.
July 2026
Inspector general warns money runs out in December 2027
Funding
A review of the 2026 business plan found a $9.5 billion gap over five years and said the authority would exhaust its construction funds by December 2027 without new financing.
February 2026
Authority releases Draft 2026 Business Plan
Strategy
The plan trims Phase 1 cost estimates by $1.7 billion, targets 2033 for Merced–Bakersfield service, and reorients delivery around incremental expansion funded by state cap-and-invest revenue.
December 2025
California drops federal funding lawsuit
Legal
The Authority abandons its July 2025 lawsuit challenging the grant terminations, calling the federal government 'not a reliable partner.'
September 2025
California extends cap-and-trade through 2045 with $1B/year for rail
Funding
The Legislature reauthorizes cap-and-trade as 'cap-and-invest' through 2045 and locks in roughly $1 billion a year for high-speed rail, replacing the variable percentage-based formula.
July 2025
Trump administration terminates $4B in federal grants
Funding
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cancels the 2010 $928M grant and the 2023 $3.07B grant, ending federal participation in the project.
June 2025
FRA issues critical compliance report
Federal review
A 315-page Federal Railroad Administration report flags missed deadlines, budget shortfalls, and ridership projections it deems unsupported.
August 2024
Ian Choudri appointed CEO
Leadership
Choudri takes over the rail authority and begins reshaping its delivery strategy ahead of the 2026 business plan.
December 2023
Federal-State Partnership grant adds $3.07 billion
Funding
The FRA awards California a $3.07 billion Federal-State Partnership grant, the largest single federal investment in the project to date.
June 2021
Biden administration restores federal funding
Funding
The Biden administration reverses the 2019 grant termination, restoring the $929 million.
May 2019
First Trump administration tries to revoke federal grant
Funding
The Federal Railroad Administration moves to claw back $929 million in federal funding, beginning a multi-year legal fight.
February 2019
Newsom narrows project to Central Valley
Strategy
In his first State of the State, Governor Newsom says completing the full SF–LA line as planned is no longer realistic and refocuses the project on Merced–Bakersfield.
January 2015
Construction begins in Fresno
Construction
Crews break ground on the first construction package in the Central Valley, seven years after voter approval.
January 2010
Federal stimulus brings $2.5B to the project
Funding
The Obama administration awards California $2.5 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, later supplemented by an additional $929 million grant.
November 2008
California voters approve Proposition 1A
Ballot measure
Voters authorize $9.95 billion in state bonds to build a high-speed rail system from San Francisco to Los Angeles, on the promise of 2-hour-40-minute trips by 2020 at a $33 billion total cost.
Scenarios
1
Central Valley line opens around 2033, becomes first true U.S. high-speed rail
Likely
Discussed by: California High-Speed Rail Authority, Streetsblog California, Railway Age
The Authority finishes the 171-mile Merced–Bakersfield segment on its current trajectory, funded by the locked-in $1B/year cap-and-invest stream and remaining Proposition 1A bond proceeds. Service begins in 2033 with electrified trains running at up to 220 mph between Central Valley cities. The line carries modest ridership but proves the country can build high-speed rail, opening political space for incremental extensions to Gilroy and Palmdale through the 2030s.
2
Project stalls in Central Valley, becomes a regional commuter line
Possible
Discussed by: California Policy Center, federal Department of Transportation, Reason Foundation
Even with stable cap-and-invest funding, costs to extend beyond the Central Valley prove prohibitive without federal partnership. Once Merced–Bakersfield opens, political appetite for spending tens of billions more on tunneling through the Tehachapi and Pacheco mountains evaporates. The line operates indefinitely as a regional Central Valley service, never reaching San Francisco or Los Angeles, becoming the cautionary 'train to nowhere' critics predicted.
3
Federal funding returns under a future administration
Uncertain
Discussed by: Governor Newsom, congressional Democrats, U.S. High Speed Rail Association
A future federal administration restores high-speed rail as a national priority, treating California's Central Valley line as the proof-of-concept it was originally meant to be. New federal grants accelerate the Bakersfield-to-Palmdale and Merced-to-Gilroy extensions, with the SF-to-LA connection completed in the 2040s. This pattern would echo the 2019–2021 cycle when federal funding was pulled and then restored across administration changes.
California's cap-and-invest carbon market produces less revenue than projected as the state's emissions fall faster than the cap, shrinking allowance prices. The $1B/year commitment becomes harder to sustain politically as it competes with wildfire response and other climate priorities. The Authority is forced to slow construction or further narrow the initial operating segment, pushing 2033 service into the late 2030s.
5
Construction money runs out in December 2027 and work slows
Possible
Resolves by End of 2027
Discussed by: California High-Speed Rail Authority Office of the Inspector General, CBS News
The inspector general's July 2026 review found the authority will exhaust its current funding resources as soon as December 2027 without new financing, a $9.5 billion gap over five years. Borrowing to cover it could add $3.6 billion to $6.6 billion in interest costs the project's cost estimate does not include. If no financing arrives, construction on the Central Valley segment slows or pauses before track and systems work is finished, pushing the 2033 service date out.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 3
1991–2007
Boston's Big Dig (1991–2007)
Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel project rerouted I-93 underneath downtown, replacing an elevated highway with a tunnel network. Originally estimated at $2.8 billion with completion by 1998, it ultimately cost about $24 billion including financing and was substantially complete only in 2007.
Then
The project finished roughly nine years late and at nearly nine times its original budget, becoming the canonical American example of megaproject cost overrun.
Now
Boston ended up with the infrastructure it paid for — the elevated highway is gone and downtown is reconnected to the waterfront — but the political fallout made future federal partners more cautious about large urban infrastructure commitments.
Why this matters now
Like California high-speed rail, the Big Dig demonstrated that American megaprojects routinely run multiples over their original cost and decades past their original timeline — and that the underlying infrastructure can still ultimately be built and used.
2 of 3
December 1988 – May 1994
Channel Tunnel (1988–1994)
Britain and France jointly built a 31-mile rail tunnel under the English Channel, financed entirely by private capital with no government guarantees. The project ran roughly 80% over budget at about £4.65 billion and opened a year late.
Then
The operating company, Eurotunnel, struggled financially for years and went through multiple debt restructurings before becoming profitable.
Now
The tunnel carries millions of passengers and substantial freight annually, and Eurostar has reshaped travel between London, Paris, and Brussels — vindicating the underlying infrastructure thesis even as the financing structure failed.
Why this matters now
The Channel Tunnel shows that high-speed rail megaprojects can be transformative even when the original financing model collapses — a useful frame for evaluating California's pivot away from federal funding toward state climate revenue.
Spain opened its first high-speed line from Madrid to Seville in 1992 and has since built more than 2,300 miles of dedicated high-speed track, second only to China globally. Construction relied on heavy EU structural funds and a national policy commitment to connect every provincial capital to Madrid.
Then
Spain achieved the largest high-speed network in Europe, with travel times like Madrid–Barcelona compressed from over six hours to under three.
Now
Some lines have been criticized for low ridership relative to cost, but the network has reshaped Spanish domestic travel and largely displaced short-haul aviation between major cities.
Why this matters now
Spain's experience shows what sustained, multi-decade public funding can build — and it is the model California is implicitly attempting with its $1B-a-year cap-and-invest commitment, swapping U.S. federal grants for a stable state revenue stream.
