The California High-Speed Rail Authority was established in 1996 after decades of advocacy for building a high speed rail system in California. The passage of Proposition 1A in 2008, followed by the awarding of federal stimulus funds in 2010, established the initial funding for the California High-Speed Rail system. Construction contracts began to be awarded in 2013, and the groundbreaking ceremony for initial construction was held on January 6, 2015.

Discussion of HSR alternatives Instead of risking the large expenditures of high-speed rail, some suggested that existing transportation methods should be increased to meet transportation needs. In a report commissioned by the Authority, a comparison was made to the needed infrastructure improvements if high-speed rail were not constructed. According to the report, the cost of building equivalent capacity to the $68.4 billion (YOE) Phase 1 Blended plan, in airports and freeways, is estimated to be at minimum $119 billion (YOE) for of highway, plus $38.6 billion (YOE) for 115 new airport gates and 4 new runways, for a total estimated cost of $158 billion.

In the 2023 Project Update Report, the cost of building equivalent capacity to the $88.5 to $127.9 billion (YOE$) Phase 1 Blended plan was revised to $130 to $215 billion (YOE$) for about 4,200 more highway lane-miles, 91 more airport gates and two new airport runways.

As late as 2010, the Japanese government offered to finance the project with long-term, low interest loans, provided California would adopt Shinkansen bullet-train technology.

Elon Musk proposed Hyperloop as a replacement for HSR. Musk had previously criticized the high-speed rail project as being too expensive and not technologically advanced enough. However, Hyperloop is an unproven technology for its stated purpose. The entire route would be underground, requiring massive tunneling. There are also major issues concerning how it could be implemented in a large scale public transit system format.

Legislative history Before 1992. Governor Jerry Brown had long been an advocate of a high-speed rail system for California. In his first two terms as governor (1975–1983) he signed legislation into law for the study of a high-speed rail system. In September 1982, the California legislature passed AB 3647, authorizing the construction of a $2bn “bullet train” between Los Angeles and San Diego, including the issuance of $1.25bn in state bonds. Brown signed the legislation that same month, and it became law in October that year. In 1992 in his run for the Presidency the United States he continued to show his support for it. Then, in 1993 the Intercity High-Speed Rail Commission was created to conduct studies and prepare plans.

1992. At the federal level, in 1992 the San Francisco–Los Angeles rail corridor was proposed in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act as one of five high speed rail corridors.

1996. In 1996 the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), was established by SB 1420 to begin formal planning in preparation for a ballot measure in 1998 or 2000. The ballot measure was originally scheduled to be put before voters in the 2004 general election; however, the state legislature voted twice to move it back, first to 2006, and finally to 2008 when 53% of voters approved the issuing of $9 billion in bonds for high speed rail in Proposition 1A.

2008. The U.S. Congress enacted the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA), which among other things required the states to develop passenger rail plans.

2013. In May 2013, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) released its 2013 State Rail Plan. This helped provide a new perspective that viewed the HSR project as the backbone of a statewide rail modernization plan. This has been used by the Authority in allocating funds to other California rail systems that support passenger rail goals and feed into the HSR system. The California State Rail Plan was updated by Caltrans in 2018 and again in 2024; these updates continue to refer to California high-speed rail as the 'backbone' of the state's passenger rail system.

2014. In Jerry Brown's second two terms as Governor (2011 to 2019), in 2014 25% of California's Cap and Trade revenue was allocated to the HSR system. In 2017, this was extended into 2030.

2022. SB 198 established the priority of bringing a working HSR line into operation as soon as possible in the Central Valley.

Changes under Gov. Newsom Citing delays, cost overruns, and lack of transparency from the project's leadership, Governor Gavin Newsom reaffirmed the state's commitment to the project on February 12, 2019. Newsom said the state will prioritize the construction of a segment already underway in California's Central Valley, arguing it would revitalize the economically depressed region. The state will complete the planning for the remaining segments and seek federal funds for their construction. He also said he would replace the head of the state board that oversees the project and pledged more accountability for contractors that run over on costs. Subsequently, the Chair of the Authority, Dan Richards, was replaced by Tom Richard (then the Vice-Chair), and Brian P. Kelly was brought in as the new CEO in 2018.

Project Plans

2022 Business Plan and 2023 Project Update Report

The 2023 Project Update Report was released on March 1, 2023. Some of the updated information included was: An updated program baseline budget and schedule Updated capital costs to complete Phase 1

The 2022 Business Plan included information regarding the project's status, goals, and activities. In order to make an effective, self-supporting Initial Operating Segment, due to financial constraints, the Authority was focusing on five areas:

Creating the infrastructure for a viable Interim IOS. That means adding the additional to create an HSR-operable segment between Merced and Bakersfield, and creating the train stations along the route. Advanced design contracts were awarded for both extensions, and work on route acquisition and construction was to be performed as funding becomes available.California High-Speed Rail Board Approves Design Contracts to Prepare for Construction into Merced and Bakersfield California High-Speed Rail Authority$25 Million in Federal Funding Awarded to Advance High-Speed Rail in California California High-Speed Rail AuthorityCalifornia High-Speed Rail Authority Pursues First Major Award Of New Federal Infrastructure Funds California High-Speed Rail Authority On October 10, 2022, the contract for the first phase of station creation (expected to take about 30 months) was let.California High-Speed Rail Board Awards Design Contract for Central Valley Stations California High-Speed Rail Authority Creating an operational HSR system for testing. A track and systems contract will need to be let to install tracks, power, and control systems for the initial of right-of-way, and HSR train sets will need to be acquired to test on it. When the track and systems work along the initial is completed (the 2023 Project Update Report projects this to be by 2028), there will be a two-year period of testing the HSR trainsets, trackage, and control systems while construction proceeds on the Merced and Bakersfield extensions. The Authority plans to restructure and re-issue the track and systems procurement in 2023.California High-Speed Rail Authority to Restructure Track and Systems Procurement California High-Speed Rail Authority The Authority has applied for federal funds to purchase six trainsets capable of speeds in excess of . The 2023 Project Update Report projects the purchase of these to be made in 2024. Readying the entire Phase 1 system for construction. The segments from San Francisco to Palmdale and from Burbank to Los Angeles were already environmentally cleared. The last two segments in Phase 1, Palmdale to Burbank and Los Angeles to Anaheim, are both now expected to be approved before 2026. The goal was to have all segments in Phase 1 ready for construction when funding became available. Continuing to advance "bookend" investments. In Northern California, these include electrification of Caltrain, grade separations, and an automatic train control system between San Francisco and San Jose. The Authority will also be working with Union Pacific Railroad to extend electrification to Gilroy, since the selected "blended" route between San Jose and Gilroy uses the UPRR alignment. In Southern California, these include phase A of Link Union Station, which through-tracks LA Union Station, and other improvements, such as early grade separations in the Burbank-to-Los Angeles shared corridor, the Rosecrans–Marquardt grade separation, and an automatic train control system. These investments will provide immediate benefits in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, while also readying those transit systems for eventual shared use by HSR trainsets. (The 28 red stars in the map shown here indicate bookend investments in other rail systems.) Opening the Interim IOS to passenger traffic before 2031. SB 198 (passed by the legislature and signed into law in June 2022) prioritized getting the Interim IOS into operation. The contracted early train operator (ETO) selected to run the system is DB ECO North America Inc. The plan is to have the Interim IOS run double-tracked from Merced to Bakersfield, have five stations (Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings/Tulare, and Bakersfield), provide many more trips per day than current service, and operate the trains up to for a significantly faster service. The Merced station will provide a transfer point to the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) and Gold Runner (Amtrak) rail routes to Sacramento and the Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose) as well as local buses. The Bakersfield station will have a transfer to Thruway Bus Service for travel to Southern California.Get the facts California High-Speed Rail Authority

Also, a major addition to the development and operation plan was a new emphasis on risk analysis and risk mitigation (with these integrated into the formal authorization process), and contingency reserves were being increased. Revenue and expense projections indicated that constructing an operable segment is feasible.

Critique of 2023 Project Update Report On March 23, 2023, the Peer Review Group sent a Letter to the Legislature (March 23, 2023) reviewing the 2023 Project Update Report. In particular, the group noted the following major problems:

increasing costs (while not out of line) would continue to pose significant problems "schedules continued to stretch out" and "There was no longer a projected completion date for the full Phase I system because there was no funding on which to base a credible schedule" ridership demand estimates had fallen, thus reducing the benefits of the system confidence forecasts may have easily been wrong because perhaps the most difficult forecasts (tunneling and electrification) had no real-world data to back them up inflation would continue to be a significant cost-increasing factor meeting local requests for modifications might have added significant cost increases (as had already happened) the Memorandum of Understanding between California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), the Authority, and the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority was a good start but did not properly cover funding issues the anticipated piecemeal federal money infusion was not a reliable or adequate funding process to base the project on the unfunded gap between known revenue and projected expenses was increasing