Chapter 6 Project Costs and Operations

California High-Speed Rail Authority November 2017 

Fresno to Bakersfield Section Page | 6-1 

Draft Supplemental EIR/EIS

6 PROJECT COSTS AND OPERATIONS

6.1 Introduction

This chapter discusses the estimated costs for building, operating, and maintaining the Fresno to 

Bakersfield Locally Generated Alternative (F-B LGA) of the Fresno to Bakersfield Section of the 

California High-Speed Rail (HSR) System, based on a 15 percent level of design (Preliminary 

Engineering for Project Definition) used in preparing this Draft Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). It also discusses the estimated costs 

for building, operating, and maintaining the comparable portion of the Fresno to Bakersfield 

Section Preferred Alternative (the “May 2014 Project”). The approach and details used to prepare 

the construction cost estimate are provided in the Hybrid-LGA Cost Estimate Comparison Report

(California High-Speed Rail Authority [Authority] and Federal Railroad Administration [FRA] 

2016), which is available upon request from the Authority. Table 6-1 provides the capital cost 

estimate for both the May 2014 Project and the F-B LGA. Changes in this table primarily reflect 

changes in quantity estimates in the areas of track, track structures, site work, and right-of-way as 

a result of refinement in the project design.

Table 6-1 Capital Cost of the High-Speed Rail Alternatives

FRA Standard Cost Categories Base 

Year FY 2010 Dollars (millions)

Alternatives 

May 2014 Project F-B LGA

10 Track Structures & Track 1,266.6 1,150.7

20 Stations, Terminals, Intermodal 260.8 250.3

30 Support Facilities: Yards, Shops, 

Admin. Bldgs., MOWF/MOIF

25.8 26.0

40 Site work, Right-of-Way, Land, 

Existing Improvements

766.8 716.4

50 Communications & Signaling 39.0 37.7

60 Electric Traction 127.8 123.5

70 Vehicles Considered a system wide cost and not included as part of individual HSR

study alternatives.

80 Professional Services (applies to 

Categories 10–60)

297.9 282.4

90 Unallocated Contingency 109.0 100.4

100 Finance Charges Estimate to be developed before project construction.

Total 2,893.7 2,687.5

Source: Authority, 2016 

F-B LGA = Fresno to Bakersfield Locally Generated Alternative

FRA = Federal Railroad Administration

FY = Fiscal Year

HMF = heavy maintenance facility

HSR = high-speed rail

MOWF = Maintenance-of-way facility

MOIF = Maintenance-of-infrastructure facility (also = MOWF)

6.2 Capital Costs

Capital costs represent the total cost associated with the design, management, land acquisition, 

and construction of the HSR system. The estimate of long-term operating and maintenance

(O&M) costs include both train operations and infrastructure maintenance. Operations consists of 

labor costs, electrical power, and other factors required to keep the HSR in service, whereas 
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maintenance includes routine servicing of vehicles, maintenance of the tracks, signals, 

communications, and other systems needed to keep the system safe and reliable.

To help evaluate and compare project construction costs, the FRA and the Authority have 

developed ten main Standardized Capital Cost Categories. Each standardized cost category is 

briefly described below:

• 10 Track Structures & Track – includes elevated structures (bridges and viaducts),

embankments and open cuts, retaining wall systems, tunnels, culverts and drainage, track

(ballasted and non-ballasted), and special trackwork.

• 20 Stations, Terminals, Intermodal – includes rough grading, excavation, station structures,

enclosures, finishes, equipment; mechanical and electrical components including heating,

ventilation, and air conditioning; station power; lighting; public address/customer information

systems; and safety systems such as fire detection and prevention, security surveillance,

access control, life safety systems, etc.

• 30 Support Facilities: Yards, Shops, Administration Buildings – includes rolling stock

service, inspection, storage, heavy maintenance and overhaul facilities and equipment, as

well as associated yard tracks and electrification. In addition, maintenance-of-way facilities

are also included in this cost category.

• 40 Sitework, Right-of-Way, Land, Existing Improvements – includes cost of demolition,

hazardous materials removals, environmental mitigation, utility relocations, noise mitigation,

intrusion protection, grade separations, roadway improvements, acquisition of real estate,

and temporary facilities and other indirect costs.

• 50 Communications and Signaling – includes all costs of implementing Automatic Train

Control systems, inclusive of Positive Train Control and intrusion detection where it is

applicable.

• 60 Electric Traction – includes costs of traction power supply system including supply,

paralleling, and switching substations as well as connections to the power utilities; and

traction power distribution system in the form of overhead contact system.

• 70 Vehicles – includes costs for acquisition of the trainsets (design, prototype unit, and

production and delivery of trainsets to the project site on annual basis). Acquisition of

trainsets is considered a system wide cost and is not included as part of the cost of individual

HSR study alternatives.

• 80 Professional Services – includes all professional, technical, and management services

related to the design and construction of infrastructure (Categories 10 through 60) during the

preliminary engineering, final design, and construction phases of the project/program (as

applicable).

• 90 Unallocated Contingency – includes program reserves.

• 100 Finance Charges – includes finance charges expected to be paid by the

project/program sponsor/grantee prior to either the completion of the project or the fulfillment

of the FRA funding commitment, whichever occurs later in time (not included in the estimate).

6.2.1 High-Speed Rail Alternatives

The conceptual HSR cost estimates prepared for the May 2014 Project and the F-B LGA were 

developed by utilizing estimating methodology and basis of unit prices presented in the “Capital 

Cost Estimate Report - Fresno to Bakersfield Section High-Speed Train Project Final EIR/EIS” 

dated January 2014, recent bid data from Construction Package 1 contractor estimated costs, 

and by developing specific, bottom-up unit pricing to reflect common HSR elements and 

construction methods with an adjustment for Central Valley labor and material costs. All material 

quantities for the F-B LGA and the May 2014 Project are estimated based on a 15 percent level 

of design. This level of design has generally defined at-grade or elevated profiles, structure types, 
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Draft Supplemental EIR/EIS

placement of retaining walls, and earth fill. The proposed F Street Station and roadway and utility 

relocations have been identified, and power substations have been sized and located. 

The costs include the total effort and materials to construct the F-B LGA, including modifications 

to roadways required to accommodate HSR grade-separated guideways and elevation of BNSF

through the city of Shafter, as well as utility upgrades, the proposed station, and the proposed 

maintenance of infrastructure facility. It should be noted that the capital cost estimate reflects only 

HSR-related infrastructure improvements. 

Right-of-way costs were estimated based on the 15 percent design and are provided in the 

Fresno to Bakersfield Section Preliminary Right-of-Way Requirements Report (Authority 2013; 

May 2014 Project) and the Fresno to Bakersfield Section Locally Generated Alternative (F-B 

LGA) Preliminary Engineering For Project Definition Record Set Design Submission Preliminary 

Right-of-Way Requirements Report (Authority 2016; F-B LGA). However, as the design of the 

project evolves, the right-of-way limits would be reassessed to reflect refined property acquisition 

needs. As a result, property acquisition costs are estimated in broad categories (i.e., urban, 

suburban, and rural, and by density level) rather than relying on a parcel-by-parcel assessment at 

this phase of project development. Right-of-way costs include the estimated cost to acquire 

properties needed for the future HSR right-of-way but do not include costs associated with 

temporary easements for construction that are assumed to be part of the Design Build Contractor 

responsibilities to negotiate use.

These costs do not include acquiring HSR vehicles because they are part of the statewide HSR

system and are not associated with constructing individual sections. The cost of vehicles will be

determined using the proposals submitted in response to the HSR 14-30 Draft Request for 

Proposals for Tier III Trainsets (Authority 2015), as well as using publically available data 

regarding recent sales of comparable equipment to other HSR projects around the world. 

Additional costs are included for adaptation of existing trainset designs to meet United States

safety regulations and to comply with ‘Buy America’ requirements. The system wide cost of 

vehicle procurement is divided into parts as the system is built: Initial Operating Section (Silicon 

Valley to Central Valley); the extension of the Initial Operating Section to the San Francisco Bay, 

Merced, and Bakersfield; and subsequent demand-based procurement as the Phase 1 Blended 

System (San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim) build-out continues. Total vehicle 

procurement cost was previously estimated at $3.2 billion in 2011 dollars, which will be refined 

upon receipt of trainset manufacturer proposals. 

According to the Hybrid-LGA Cost Estimate Comparison Report (Authority and FRA), 

professional services are estimated at 10.5 percent of the construction costs; these costs are 

divided between final design (4.3 percent), construction management (3.1 percent), program 

management (2.3 percent), and agency costs (0.4 percent), and start-up costs (0.4 percent). 

Environmental mitigation costs are estimated at approximately 1 percent of the capital cost, given 

potential project impacts and typical mitigation costs in the region. 

At this stage of design, many project features have not been fully developed; therefore, early cost 

estimates include contingencies to account for changes in material costs and changes during 

project design. Currently, allocated contingencies (money reserves assigned to each cost 

category to cover risks associated with design uncertainty) are assumed to be between 

10 percent and 25 percent of the estimated construction and right-of-way acquisition costs, and 

unallocated contingency (project reserves intended to cover unknown risks) is estimated at 

3.7 percent of the construction and right-of-way acquisition costs. Table 6-1 shows estimates for 

the May 2014 Project and the F-B LGA. 

6.3 Operation and Maintenance Costs

Chapter 2 of this Draft Supplemental EIR/EIS describes O&M activities in greater detail. For 

purposes of comparison, the following assumptions for the O&M cost estimate from the Fresno to 

Bakersfield Final EIR/EIS have been carried forward for the F-B LGA O&M cost estimate. HSR

service during Phase 1 would connect San Francisco with Los Angeles via the Central Valley by 

2029. HSR service during Phase 2 would extend to Sacramento and San Diego starting after 
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2025. The plan is to offer express, limited-stop, and all-stop services, depending on the time of 

the day and projected needs. For Phases 1 and 2 there would be 24 HSR stations; up to three

HSR stations would be located within the Fresno to Bakersfield Section. There is one proposed 

station in the F-B LGA. By 2035, multiple facilities for overnight storage, inspection, and routine 

maintenance of over 200 trainsets, each 656 feet long would be required. One maintenance of 

infrastructure facility would also be required approximately every 100 miles.

O&M costs account for staff and supplies required to run the HSR system and keep it properly 

maintained. O&M costs are estimated based on daily train miles, operation speeds, travel times, 

HSR station configurations, maintenance and storage facilities, and assumed operating 

frequencies (Parsons Brinckerhoff 2011). The apportionment of system wide O&M cost estimates 

to the F-B LGA is proportional to the O&M activity and facilities within the section.

6.3.1 Operating Speeds

The HSR would operate at high speeds (up to 220 miles per hour) throughout the Fresno to 

Bakersfield project section, not limited to the F-B LGA. Though train speeds could slow in 

residential areas and on station approach, this speed was chosen for analysis for the entire F-B 

LGA alignment in order to provide a conservative approach to related impacts.1

 

6.3.2 Travel Times 

Table 6-2 shows the optimal express train times between Fresno, Bakersfield, and other 

destinations in the proposed statewide HSR system. Fresno and Bakersfield would connect to the 

Bay Area and Los Angeles in Phase 1. In Phase 2, the HSR system would extend to Sacramento 

and San Diego after 2025. 

Table 6-2 Optimal Express Travel Times from Fresno to Bakersfield and Other Cities 

San 

Francisco San Jose

Los 

Angeles Anaheim

Sacramento 

(Phase 2)

San Diego

(Phase 2) Bakersfield

Fresno 1:20 0:51 1:24 1:43 0:59 2:42 0:37

Bakersfield 1:51 1:21 0:54 1:13 1:29 2:12 N/A

Source: Authority and FRA, 2014 

Note: All travel times are indicated in hours and minutes. Travel times are based on programmatic, system-wide estimates, and are not specific to 

station alternatives.

N/A = not applicable

6.3.3 Development of Operation and Maintenance Costs

O&M costs were estimated for the operations needed to serve and carry the forecast traffic for 

Phases 1 and 2, as described in Chapter 2 of this Draft Supplemental EIR/EIS; the maintenance 

necessary to keep the entire system in a state of good repair; and the administrative activities and 

costs. Unit prices were developed and applied to calculate the cost for each activity included in 

the operating plan. Although many of the O&M unit costs for the California HSR System would be 

similar to the costs of United States conventional rail operations and can be reliably estimated 

from United States practices and costs, the unit cost to maintain high-speed trainsets and 

dedicated high-speed rail infrastructure has no close analogy in the United States. Therefore, 

international O&M unit cost projections from comparable HSR operations were applied to planned 

California operations, HSR technology, and local cost levels and labor practices. 

The cost of operation and maintenance of HSR equipment includes the cost of (1) crew, 

administration, and supplies to operate and dispatch the HSR services; (2) electric power for 

1 The May 2014 Project includes a curve that limits operating speed through the City of Bakersfield. 

This curve is needed to avoid specific critical community features as identified by the City. The F-B LGA 

does not require an operating speed limiting curve to avoid community features critical to the City of 

Bakersfield.
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traction, onboard systems, stations, and maintenance/other facilities; and (3) cleaning, inspection, 

maintenance, and overhaul of trainsets. 

Maintenance of infrastructure covers the costs of patrolling, inspecting, and maintaining the rightof-way, fencing, structures, bridges, tunnels, roadbed, track, signaling, overhead electric traction 

power system, substations and similar electrical facilities, communications, intrusion detection, 

and facilities.

Station costs include the day-to-day operations of the station, ticket sales and machine 

maintenance, public safety, passenger handling, and cleaning. 

Insurance, administration, and contingency costs round out the categories of costs presented. 

At the higher level of activity associated with HSR fares at 50 percent of airfares, maintenance of 

equipment activities around the state would employ 4,800 persons, transportation operations 

would employ 4,100 persons, maintenance of infrastructure activities would employ 800 persons, 

and all other activities would employ 1,600 persons. At the lower level of riders and operations 

associated with HSR fares at 83 percent of airfares, employment would be roughly one-third 

lower in the three categories, except maintenance of infrastructure, which would be similar to the 

estimated employment with fares at 50 percent of airfares.

Table 6-3 lists the total O&M costs estimated for the full system, on completion of Phases 1 

and 2, of the California HSR System for the year 2035.

Table 6-3 Annual Phase Full System Operating and Maintenance Costs, Year 2035 (2010 

$Millions)

O&M Activity HSR Fares at 50% of 

Airfare

HSR Fares at 83% of 

Airfare

Operating & Maintenance of Equipment $1,967 $1,312

Maintenance of Infrastructure $165 $165

Stations $101 $101

Insurance $25 $25

Administration (10% of above) $226 $161

Contingency (10% of above) $248 $176

Total $2,732 $1,940

Source: Authority, 2016

HSR = high-speed rail

O&M = operating and maintenance

O&M costs in 2010 dollars as apportioned to the Fresno to Bakersfield Section are shown in 

Table 6-4, and O&M costs in 2010 dollars as apportioned to the May 2014 Project and the F-B 

LGA are shown in Table 6-5, based on the levels of activity associated with the section as a 

proportion of full system costs. Costs associated with both the May 2014 Project and the F-B LGA 

are calculated here based on assumptions made in Chapter 5 of the Fresno to Bakersfield 

Section Final EIR/EIS (page 5-13), as described below.

The costs associated with “Operations & Maintenance of Equipment” of the Fresno to Bakersfield 

Section are apportioned on the basis of trainset miles operated within the Fresno to Bakersfield 

Section. The costs associated with “Maintenance of Infrastructure” of the Fresno to Bakersfield 

Section are apportioned as a ratio of 120 route miles to the total 800 route miles. The costs 

associated with “Stations” for the Fresno to Bakersfield Section are apportioned as a ratio based 

on 3 of the 24 stations being located in the Fresno to Bakersfield Section. The costs of 

“Administration” and “Contingency” are calculated as a percentage of the overall system costs.
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Table 6-4 Annual 2035 Operating and Maintenance Costs Apportioned to the Fresno to 

Bakersfield Section (2010 $millions) 

Annual O&M Cost HSR Fares at 50% of Airfare HSR Fares at 83% of Airfare

Operating & Maintenance of Equipment $236 $158

Maintenance of Infrastructure $25 $25

Stations $13 $13

Insurance $3 $3

Administration (10% of above) $28 $20

Contingency (10% of above) $30 $22

Total $335 $241

Source: Authority and FRA, 2014

HSR = high-speed rail

O&M = operating and maintenance

Table 6-5 Annual 2035 Operating and Maintenance Costs Apportioned to the May 2014 

Project and F-B LGA

Annual O&M Cost HSR Fares at 50% of 

Airfare

HSR Fares at 83% of 

Airfare

Operating & Maintenance of Equipment $57 $38 

Maintenance of Infrastructure $5 $5

Stations $4 $4

Insurance $0.7 $0.7

Administration (10% of above) $7 $5

Contingency (10% of above) $7 $5

Total $80.7 $57.7

Source: Authority, 2016

HSR = high-speed rail

O&M = operating and maintenance

The May 2014 Project and the F-B LGA have approximately the same number of trainset miles, 

stations, and route miles. Therefore, O&M costs for each of these alignments are considered to 

be the same. The costs associated with “Operation & Maintenance Equipment” for the May 2014 

Project and the F-B LGA are apportioned on the basis of trainset miles operated within the May 

2014 Project and the F-B LGA. The costs associated with “Maintenance of Infrastructure” of the 

May 2014 Project and the F-B LGA are apportioned as a ratio of 23 route miles to the 800 total 

route miles. The costs associated with “Stations” for the May 2014 Project and the F-B LGA are 

apportioned as a ratio based on 1 of the 24 stations being located in the May 2014 Project and 

the F-B LGA. The costs of “Administration” and “Contingency” are each calculated to be ten 

percent of the overall system costs.