San Diego – Los Angeles – San Francisco – Sacramento (CAHSR)

Federal Railroad Administration

Corridor 

Characteristics

(Phase 1 Blended)

Length States Population

520 miles CA 23 million

California is currently undertaking one of the largest infrastructure projects in 

the United States that will bring 220-mph high-speed rail service across the 

state. 

Over the next two decades, California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) will lay more 

than 500 miles of new track to provide convenient, one-seat service from the 

San Francisco Bay to the Los Angeles Basin. As a component of California’s 

transportation mix, CAHSR will compliment other modes by relieving both 

highway and airspace congestion. New passenger service will ready California 

to meet the expected transportation needs for a growing state population, 

particularly in its major cities.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) will construct the system in 

two phases: the Initial Operating Segment (IOS) from San Jose to the Central 

Valley by 2024 (with service to begin in 2025), and the entire Phase 1 system 

from San Francisco and Merced to Los Angeles and Anaheim by 2029. When 

service begins, a combination of express, local, and limited-stop trains is 

designed to provide several trains per hour between all possible station pairs 

with frequent non-stop service provided between major markets.

CHSRA is prioritizing initial operations north toward Silicon Valley and the Bay 

Area using the First Construction Section (FCS) from a station north of 

Bakersfield. Construction on the FCS began in 2013 and includes the new 

Fresno River Bridge and other major structures. By early 2016, the Notice to 

Proceed had been issued for all four construction packages in the FCS.

FRA’s High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program also provides support for the 

new Transbay Transit Center (TTC) in downtown San Francisco. The TTC will 

enable both intercity and commuter trains to serve San Francisco’s busy 

Financial District and provide more direct transit options through a new 

multi-modal center. Construction began in 2010, and the FRA-funded portion of 

the work will be complete by the end of 2016. 

California High-Speed Rail 

First Construction Section

$3,481 million (HSIPR)

San Francisco-San Jose

Positive Train Control

$16 million (HSIPR)

Transbay Transit 

Center: Train Box

$400 million (HSIPR)
Federal Railroad Administration

San Diego – Los Angeles – San Francisco – Sacramento (CAHSR)

Governor Jerry Brown and other dignitaries sign a section of rail at 

the official groundbreaking for High-Speed Rail in Fresno. 

Map of phased implementation from CHSRA 2016 Business Plan

SOURCES : Population: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010. Ridership & On-Time Performance: Amtrak, 2015.

All Other Information: Federal Railroad Administration, 2016. Totals may not add exactly due to 

rounding. Last revised May 18, 2016.

Corridor Projects Program Fiscal Year Completion 

Status Federal NonFederal Total

(FY09-Present, $M)

Corridor-wide Investments

California HighSpeed Train 

Program ARRA 

Grant

HSIPR 2009 Construction 

Underway $2,553 $2,506 $5,058 

Initial Central 

Valley Section: 

Madera to 

Bakersfield

HSIPR 2010 Construction 

Underway $929 $360 $1,288 

Targeted Investments

Transbay Transit 

Center HSIPR 2009 Construction Underway $400 $329 $729 

San Francisco –

San Jose 

Communications 

and PTC

HSIPR 2010 Complete $16 $4 $20 

Transbay Utility 

Relocation 

Project

Other 2009 Complete $3 $1 $4 

TOTAL $3,901 $3,200 $7,101