California’s high-speed rail project is moving forward with a tighter timeline, as state officials prepare to install electrified tracks by 2026, marking a significant milestone for the nation’s first bullet train system.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority announced on Thursday that its board had approved the issuance of bid invitations for key rail materials. The move accelerates the state’s infrastructure agenda and lays groundwork for beginning track and systems construction within the next year on a 119-mile stretch in the Central Valley.
Why It Matters
California’s high-speed rail is in an awkward position. Years of delays and an inflated budget have damaged public and political faith in the project, but the past few years have seen progress—with construction happening throughout the state and tracklaying set to start later this year. To call off the project now, as many of its detractors in the White House desire, would waste years of advancement.
That has not stopped Trump, a long-standing critic of the project, from regularly threatening to take away the federal funding that has been vital to the project’s progress so far—a threat he and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy carried out in July.
What To Know
The authority plans to open six separate competitive procurements for domestic manufacturers to supply rail, ties, ballast, overhead contact system poles and fiber optic cable, among other components, the agency said in a news release on Thursday. The contracts, worth $507 million, are fully state-funded for the initial segment from Madera to Poplar Avenue.
Contractors are set to receive phased Notices to Proceed (NTP). NTP 1 covers materials for the current 119-mile segment, while NTPs 2 and 3 are optional and could incorporate additional funding for future project expansions. All materials must comply with the Buy American and Build America, Buy America Acts.
The invitation for bids is scheduled to begin in or after August 2025. Materials have lead times of up to 12 months, prompting the California High-Speed Rail Authority to launch procurement now to avoid delays.
The effort is coordinated with the nearing completion of the southern railhead in Kern County—a 150-acre staging yard set to serve as a logistics base for installing track components directly along the route.
The full high-speed corridor, when complete, is expected to span 494 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim. As of this month, 463 miles have already been environmentally cleared and are construction-ready.
According to the authority, speeding up procurement and installation schedules, California is positioning itself to meet critical transportation and climate targets while sustaining a large-scale public works program that already supports more than 15,800 jobs, mostly in the Central Valley. Up to 1,700 workers are active on construction sites each day.
The updated timeline signals the state’s intention to deliver rail infrastructure upgrades in alignment with Governor Gavin Newsom‘s “Build More, Faster” policy agenda, which seeks to accelerate state-funded infrastructure delivery through streamlined procurement and permitting.
What People Are Saying
Ian Choudri, the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said in a statement shared with Newsweek: “Purchasing the track and materials needed to launch the nation’s first high-speed track and systems installation within the next year is a major milestone.
“This procurement will not only accelerate construction of high-speed track, but by purchasing directly from American manufacturers, we will deliver significant savings to the state. California High-Speed Rail is the only high-speed rail system under construction in North America.
“Today, we are taking concrete actions to build faster, smarter, and more economically to deliver a modern, high-speed rail system that promotes economic mobility, affordable housing, and a cleaner environment throughout the state.”
What Happens Next
With contract invitations launching in late August and material production lead times stretching to a year, actual rail installation is expected to begin in 2026. The project’s next critical juncture is the awarding of contracts and start of shipments to the Central Valley railhead.
Meanwhile, additional segments and extensions are expected to be considered for future funding rounds, potentially including a mix of state and federal dollars. All new procurements must meet domestic content rules under current federal infrastructure investment guidelines.
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