SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Citing substantial infrastructure work already completed as evidence the California High Speed Rail Authority is on track to complete an initial operating segment by 2033, CEO Ian Choudri challenged the Federal Railroad Administration’s contention that $4 billion of federal grants should be terminated.
Earlier this month, the FRA issued a 314-page report charging that the authority has “no viable path” to complete the 133-mile “Early Operating Segment” between Merced and Bakersfield, Calif., by 2033 [see “Report says California high speed project…..” News Wire June 4, 2025].
In a defiant, 14-page letter sent to the FRA on Wednesday, Choudri characterized FRA’s assertion as, “unwarranted and unjustified…based on an inaccurate, often outright-misleading presentation of evidence. Among other things, it distorts data that the Authority has furnished to the FRA…and employs opaque and disingenuous methodologies.”
The letter specifically addresses nine issues the FRA raised, including contending that numerous change orders were not a symptom of disorganization but a result of changing FRA mandates, and that “missing an estimated date for an interim milestone” of finalizing rolling stock procurement “does not amount to persistent non-compliance or an event default” as defined by the funding agreements.
Another disputed contention suggests that an estimated $7 billion funding gap will be closed by an extension of California’s cap-and-trade program to 2045 and public-private investment. The letter notes that an October 2024 FRA monitoring report states that “project activities are within the approved project budget.” This was the judgment of analysts led by Biden administration officials, including FRA Administrator Amit Bose, who has since resigned with the change of administrations.
Choudri’s letter also challenges the idea that the cost of the Caltrain electrification is of the magnitude that electrifying the Early Operating Segment would require. The FRA also claimed that 2008’s California Proposition 1A did not set up the authority for efficient and effective project delivery. But the response notes that “information that the FRA had when it chose to enter into cooperative agreements (in 2009) cannot now be a basis for termination of those agreements.”
Trainset and terminal questions
Regarding trainset acquisition, the letter reveals the authority is “currently updating its Design Criteria Manual to standardize approaches and cut unnecessary complexity.”
Brightline West has already selected Siemens as its trainset provider, based in part on the fact that the equipment would be compatible with the original California HSR specifications. To achieve more passenger comfort, the Brightline sets are to be wider than other high speed trainsets built for existing rights-of-way in both the U.S. and many legacy European systems.
The fact that California’s specifications are now being altered confirms what Trains News Wire has learned separately: California’s trainsets will not be compatible with what Brightline West is acquiring but could be able to run on conventional U.S. rail right-of-way. Such a revised spec would be favorable to Alstom’s Next Gen Acela product, although those trainsets still have not entered revenue service on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor after four years of tests.
It would also mean, however, that through-running with Amtrak’s San Joaquins is being contemplated. The point-by-point rebuttal refers to infrastructure built on a 119-mile shorter segment — Madera, Calif., to a point north of downtown Bakersfield, rather than the 133-mile prescribed “Early Operating Segment.” A new Madera station immediately adjacent to the High Speed Rail Authority is being constructed by the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority.
Coordinated operation between the SJJPA’s San Joaquins and California’s high speed venture has always been assumed. But the terms of that coordination have never been explicitly outlined.
The authority has requested a 15-day extension to the 30 days from June 4, 2025, that the FRA has demanded for a detailed response, and says it will deliver a “subsequent submission.”
Dual-Mode Electro-Diesel HSR Trainsets solves a lot of problems of getting through service from the IOS to Sacramento and the Bay Area as soon as possible. Spain had dual-mode Talgo high-speed trainsets in service utilizing diesel generator cars behind the two power cars, same could be done with the Avelia Liberty.
Not only should federal funding be terminated. Not good enough. Federal funds previously paid should be returned.
Maybe the FRA & Trump Administration would be happier if the Army Corps of Engineers simply took over the whole CAHSR project? Or at least finish the 119 mile “Early Operating Segment” and get trains running on it, without abandoning the multiple structures already in place. Amtrak could still use it for non-high speed trains, if all else fails.