A newly restructured leadership promises to speed up the arduous construction process and start running trains in five to eight years.
After a restructuring of the authority’s leadership, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) says it plans to begin running trains in five to eight years, reports Skip Descant in GovTech.
As Descant explains, “The 494-mile project to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles with trains traveling up to 220 mph has been hobbled by complications ranging from land acquisition to utility relocation to funding to political opposition, since voters approved a bond measure that paid for it in 2008.”
There are currently 171 miles of rail line under construction between Merced and Bakersfield in the Central Valley. According to the CHSRA, “Up to 24 stations will be constructed and the project will soon begin the phase of laying track and erecting the overhead catenary system of wires supplying electricity.”
The project will eventually connect to Palmdale, a desert community north of Los Angeles and a hub for the regional Metrolink train, in the south and to Gilroy, a town south of San Francisco with a Caltrain station, in the north.
FULL STORY: Restructured Calif. High-Speed Rail Is Poised to Lay Track
California Assembly Continues to Debate High-Speed Rail
With a train-friendly administration in Washington, supporters of the project hope that state leaders will make a stronger commitment to funding the full project.
Is China’s High-Speed Rail Boom Unsustainable?
The country is building tens of thousands of miles of rail service that is expensive to maintain and, in some cases, redundant.
50,000 California State Fairgoers Visit High-Speed Rail Exhibit
An interactive exhibit offered visitors a glimpse into the future rail system.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research