This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any comments.
Dive brief:
- The California High Speed Rail Authority in December dropped its lawsuit to recover $4 billion in grants canceled by the Trump administration over the summer. “This action reflects the State’s assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive or trustworthy partner in advancing high-speed rail in California,” a spokesman for the authority said in an emailed statement.
- The project will turn to the private sector, in partnership with the state of California, to continue construction, Authority CEO Ian Choudri told Smart Cities Dive in an October interview.
- The authority issued a request for qualifications on December 19, 2025 to select a private partner to evaluate potential investment opportunities, it said in a press release.
Diving knowledge:
Nearly 20 years after California voters approved a $9.95 billion bond issue to begin building a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles, not a single section of the line has been completed and not a single train is running.
Construction delays, cost overruns and management issues have plagued the project. Less than a year ago, the California Office of Inspector General reported a $6.5 billion funding gap to complete the initial segment between Bakersfield and Merced, California.
Federal funding for the project has been torn between Democratic and Republican administrations. During President Trump’s first term, he sought to cancel a previously awarded $929 million federal grant and threatened to claw back $2.5 billion in federal funds from the authority. The Biden administration gave it $3.07 billion, then the US Department of Transportation, under the Trump administration, canceled $4 billion in unspent grants by 2025.
“We also see this moment as a new opportunity,” said the authority’s spokesman. “At times, federal requirements have hampered project execution by adding costs and delays without adding value, creating inefficiencies, limiting innovation and slowing construction. Moving forward without the Trump administration’s involvement allows the Authority to follow proven global best practices used successfully by modern high-speed rail systems around the world.”
So far, federal funds have covered 18 percent of the program’s expenses, according to the spokesman.
Choudri, who became CEO in August 2024, began confidential talks with select private sector financiers, dealers, banks and others a year ago, he said. In June, the authority issued a request for expressions of interest, which generated responses from 30 different entities, Choudri said.
“Private sector interest in investing in California’s high-speed rail project is strong and continues to grow,” Choudri said in a statement. He also sees opportunities to market the authority’s assets, such as real estate or right-of-way for fiber-optic corridors.
State funding will be the other pillar of the project’s funding. California committed $1 billion annually through 2045 to the state’s cap and investment program project, which allows greenhouse gas emitters to buy and sell allowances at auctions based on their needs, with some of the proceeds going to the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
“By leveraging private sector innovation and best practices against strong and stable state funding, we can maximize the value of California’s investment and accelerate the delivery of high-speed infrastructure across the state,” Choudri said.
In November, the authority took its first step toward laying track this year, issuing a request for proposals to build the necessary infrastructure, including track, signals and overhead power, along a 119-mile rail line between Merced and Bakersfield.
