California High-Speed Rail

California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly-funded high-speed rail system under construction across California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The project was authorized by a 2008 statewide ballot to connect the state's major urban areas. The project is to be constructed in two major phases. Phase 1, as approved by voters will connect San Francisco and Los Angeles in two hours and 40 minutes. A Phase 2 would extend the system north to Sacramento and south to San Diego, for a total system length of 776 miles (1,249 km). With a top speed of 220 mph (350 km/h), CAHSR trains would be the fastest in the U.S. and among the fastest in the world.

Phase 1, which is about 494 miles (795 km) long, is planned to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim via the Central Valley. As of July 2025, only the Initial Operating Segment (IOS), a section of Phase 1 that spans 35 percent of its total length, has advanced to construction and will connect communities from Merced to Bakersfield. Revenue service on the IOS is projected to commence in 2032 as a self-contained high-speed rail system, at a cost of $36.7 billion.

Construction began in the Central Valley in 2015, with completion of the IOS originally planned for 2022. As of August 2025, a total of $13.8 billion had been spent on the project, mainly constructing the IOS. Other project expenditures include upgrades to existing rail lines in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles, where Phase 1 is planned to share tracks with conventional passenger trains. Regulatory clearance has been obtained for the full route connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles. However, the California High-Speed Rail Authority ("the Authority") has not yet received sufficient funding commitment to construct the full buildout of the Phase 1 system, currently estimated at $89–$128 billion. As of August 2025, the Authority's interim goal is to connect the Bay Area to the IOS via a connection at Gilroy, which is 70 miles (110 km) south of San Francisco, to either Bakersfield or Palmdale, by the year 2038. The estimated cost to build the San Francisco–Bakersfield system is $54 billion, and the estimate for the San Francisco–Palmdale system is $84 billion. The extension to Palmdale will connect the project to the Southland via the Metrolink system, while the Burbank-Los Angeles-Anaheim segment is constructed to complete the Phase I system.

The project has been politically controversial. Supporters state that it would alleviate housing shortages, air traffic and highway congestion, reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and provide economic benefits by linking the state's inland regions to coastal cities. Opponents argue that the project is too expensive in principle, has lost control of cost and schedule, and that the budgetary commitment precludes other transportation or infrastructure projects in the state. The route choice has been controversial, along with the decision to construct the first high-speed segment in the Central Valley rather than in more heavily populated parts of the state. The project has experienced significant delays and cost overruns caused by management issues, legal challenges and permitting hold-ups, and inefficiencies from inadequate and sporadic funding. The Authority has also faced notable delays in securing agreements to relocate utilities, such as power lines and water infrastructure. A state-appointed high-speed rail peer review group confirmed that the project may fall short of promises made to voters in several areas, including ridership and travel times.

High-speed rail in California was first proposed in 1979 by Governor Jerry Brown. In 1982, Brown signed a bill authorizing $1.25 billion in bonds for a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Diego. The law failed due to concerns over its economic viability, environmental impact, and Caltrans' objection to the handling of the project by a private company. In 1993, the state created the California Intercity High-Speed Rail Commission. In 1996, the California Legislature and Governor Pete Wilson passed the High-Speed Rail Act, which formed the California High-Speed Rail Authority to plan, design, construct and operate a statewide high-speed rail system.

In 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger championed Proposition 1A (Prop 1A), which authorized $9 billion in bonds to begin the planning and construction of high-speed rail and a further $950 million to upgrade commuter rail systems in Northern and Southern California that would connect with the high-speed rail system. Prop 1A, which passed with about 53 percent of the vote, set several requirements for the high-speed rail system, including that the nonstop travel time from the Salesforce Transit Center (formerly: San Francisco Transbay Terminal) in San Francisco to Los Angeles Union Station in Los Angeles should be no more than two hours and 40 minutes.

After the prioritized funding of the San Francisco to Los Angeles section, Prop 1A proposed additional potential corridors for high-speed rail investment:

The only specific route requirements set by Prop 1A were to complete a link between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and that the Authority would study the additional corridors for possible inclusion. It did not require that all corridors be built, indicate the order of construction, or specify precise routes and station locations other than in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The designation of the San Francisco to Los Angeles segment as "Phase 1," and additional adopted corridors as "Phase 2," was published in the Authority's 2012 Business Plan.