{"id":33869,"date":"2026-01-11T11:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T19:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/california-high-speed-rail-project-pivots-toward-public-private-partnership\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T11:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T19:53:10","slug":"california-high-speed-rail-project-pivots-toward-public-private-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/california-high-speed-rail-project-pivots-toward-public-private-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"California high-speed rail project pivots toward public-private partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">4 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/text-to-speech.divecdn.com\/newspost\/809080\/2026-01-08_09.45.39\/california-high-speed-rail-private-sector-funding.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\">Dive Brief:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The California High-Speed Rail Authority in December <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/26445422-california-high-speed-rail-lawsuit-dismissal\/\" target=\"_blank\">dropped its lawsuit<\/a> to recover $4 billion in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcitiesdive.com\/news\/track-high-speed-rail-projects-latest-developments\/709753\/#us-dot-cancels-4b-unspent-grants-california-high-speed-rail-project\" target=\"_blank\">grants terminated by the Trump administration<\/a> over the summer. \u201cThis action reflects the State\u2019s assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy partner in advancing high-speed rail in California,\u201d a spokesperson for the authority said in an emailed statement.<\/li>\n<li>The project will <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcitiesdive.com\/news\/california-high-speed-rail-ceo-choudri-interview\/804053\/\" target=\"_blank\">pivot toward the private sector,<\/a> in partnership with the state of California, to continue construction, Authority CEO Ian Choudri told Smart Cities Dive in an October interview.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The authority issued a request for qualifications on Dec. 19, 2025, to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/hsr.ca.gov\/2025\/12\/23\/news-release-california-high-speed-rail-launches-process-to-draw-in-private-investors\/#\" target=\"_blank\">select a private partner<\/a> to evaluate potential investment opportunities, it said in a news release.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Dive Insight:<\/h3>\n<p>Nearly 20 years after California voters approved a $9.95 billion bond issue to start building a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles, no segment of the line has been completed and no trains are running.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcitiesdive.com\/news\/high-speed-rail-projects-california-nevada-texas-atlanta-washington\/731379\/#:~:text=Delays%2C%20cost%20overruns%20and%20management%20issues%20came%20to%20the%20fore%20in%20a%202018%20report%20from%20the%20California%20state%20auditor.\" target=\"_blank\">Construction delays, cost overruns and management issues<\/a> have plagued the project. Less than a year ago, the California Office of the Inspector General reported a $6.5 billion funding gap to complete the initial segment between Bakersfield and Merced, California.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Federal funding for the project has whipsawed between Democratic and Republican administrations. During President Trump\u2019s first term, he tried 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 U.S. Department of Transportation, under the Trump administration, canceled $4 billion in unspent grants in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also see this moment as a new opportunity,\u201d the authority spokesperson said. \u201cFederal requirements have, at times, hindered project delivery by adding cost and delays without adding value \u2013 creating inefficiencies, constraining innovation, and slowing construction. Moving forward without the Trump administration\u2019s involvement allows the Authority to pursue proven global best practices used successfully by modern high-speed rail systems around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To date, federal funds have covered 18% of the program\u2019s expenditures, according to the spokesperson.<\/p>\n<p>Choudri, who became CEO in August 2024, began confidential discussions with select private-sector financiers, concessionaires, 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInterest from the private sector in investing in California\u2019s high-speed rail project is strong and continues to grow,\u201d Choudri said in a statement. He also sees opportunities to commercialize authority assets, such as real estate or the right-of-way for fiber-optic corridors.<\/p>\n<p>State funding will be the other pillar of the project&#8217;s financing. California committed $1 billion annually through 2045 toward the project from the state\u2019s cap-and-invest program, which enables greenhouse gas emitters to buy and sell allowances at auctions based on their needs, with some of the proceeds going to the state\u2019s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy leveraging private sector innovation and best practices against strong, stable state funding, we can maximize the value of California\u2019s investment and accelerate delivery of high-speed infrastructure throughout the state,\u201d Choudri said.<\/p>\n<p>In November, the authority took its <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartcitiesdive.com\/news\/track-high-speed-rail-projects-latest-developments\/709753\/#california-high-speed-rail-authority-prepares-lay-track-next-year\" target=\"_blank\">first step toward laying track this year<\/a>, issuing a request for proposals to build the necessary infrastructure, including track, signals and the overhead electrical system, along a 119-mile rail line between Merced and Bakersfield.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/california-high-speed-rail-private-sector-funding\/809080\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. 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Dive &#8230; <a title=\"California high-speed rail project pivots toward public-private partnership\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/california-high-speed-rail-project-pivots-toward-public-private-partnership\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about California high-speed rail project pivots toward public-private partnership\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}