SACRAMENTO — The start of California high speed rail operations between Bakersfield and Merced is unlikely to meet its current target, according to a new report from the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Office of Inspector General.
The Authority, however, says such a pronouncement is premature.
A report released Monday, Feb. 3, indicates that while the Authority’s business plan of May 2024 sets 2030 as the target and 2033 as part of a “schedule envelope” reflecting project uncertainties, an Inspector General review says its review found the target has been pushed back to 2031 and staying within the 2033 envelope is unlikely. The adjustment to 2031 reflects extended timelines for current construction in the 119-mile Merced-Bakersfield segment.
“As of now, a quarter of the way through the eight-year timeline it set in 2023, the Authority’s schedule adjustments have already used a third of the excess time provided by the schedule envelope,” the report reads. Construction work that was to be completed by early 2026 is now not expected to be done until the end of 2026, the report says, while the Authority says a change in procuring track construction and system installation has also led to a delay. The report says the authority has not maintained its procurement timetable and departed from its strategies to obtain federal funding.
Among the report’s recommendations are that the authority develop options for starting service on a limited segment of the Merced-Bakersfield route by 2033, that it present a new procurement timeline reflecting its changes in that area, and that the authority conduct an analysis of its schedule and publish results, including its confidence level in its current target date.
The authority, in a response, says it is too soon to determine if the one-year delay means operations will not begin by 2033 “as mitigation measures have not yet been fully evaluated.” It agreed to present an revised procurement schedule, but said it will not conduct a risk analysis of the overall schedule until after the procurement schedule is revised.
The high speed authority’s inspector general position was established in September 2023, with Ben Belnap, who spent 22 years in the California State Auditor’s Office, appointed to the position. More on the Office of Inspector General is available here.
