By Alia ShoaibShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberThe California High-Speed Rail Authority has opened a $3.5 billion bidding process for companies to build track and rail systems for its high-speed rail project.
The agency in a press release described the project as "the first true high-speed rail track and systems ever built in the United States."
Why It Matters
The project is North America’s biggest high-speed rail effort and promises to bring faster, cleaner travel across California.
The California High-Speed Rail has been a long time in the making, having first been approved by voters in 2008. The large-scale project has faced hurdles including funding challenges and legal reviews. This contract moves the project closer to becoming operational.
What To Know
The Track and Systems Construction Contract (TSCC) seeks bidders to work on a 119-mile stretch currently under construction and the planned extensions to Merced and Bakersfield.
The contract is divided into nine packages covering elements including track, electrification, train control, communications, and testing and safety checks.
Work under the contract will progress section by section, allowing construction and systems installation to move forward as civil construction is completed.
...This news comes as the agency has completed track installation at its 150-acre railhead facility in Kern County, which serves as the logistical hub for high-speed rail materials.
From there, freight trains transport track and system components directly to the locations where they will be installed.
The procurement process begins after approval from the Authority’s Board of Directors last week.
The full California high-speed rail system is planned to span 494 miles, connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim. Of these, 463 miles are currently fully environmentally cleared for construction.
More than 70 miles of guideway, meaning the physical railway, has been completed, along with nearly 60 major structures.
The project has created more than 16,100 jobs, and up to 1,700 workers report to high-speed rail construction sites every day.
What People Are Saying
Ian Choudri, California High-Speed Rail Authority’s CEO, said in a press release: "Bringing this contract to market today is a major milestone of our new delivery strategy: building faster, smarter, and more economically. Together with our innovative direct purchases of track and systems materials, this action puts us on an accelerated path to laying the first true high-speed rail track in the Western Hemisphere next year."
What Happens Next
A prebid conference and a small business workshop will be held in Sacramento on December 19, and proposals due by March 2, 2026, Rail Journal reported.
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