California releases bullet train RFQ for private partners, drops pursuit of federal funds

The California High-Speed Rail Authority last week issued a long-awaited request for qualifications to bring in a private partner to advance the controversial project and dropped its courtroom pursuit of $4 billion of federal grants the Trump administration axed in July.

The Request for Qualifications for a Co-Development Agreement is "aimed at selecting a private partner to evaluate opportunities to invest and deliver the project faster and more efficiently, while commercializing assets (e.g. station facilities, track access, fiber, power, real estate, and others) at the earliest possible opportunity," the CHSR said in a press release announcing the RFQ.

The authority hopes to have the private partner consortium on board by summer 2026.

"Interest from the private sector in investing in California's high-speed rail project is strong and continues to grow," said CHSRA CEO Ian Choudri in the release. "By leveraging private sector innovation and best practices against strong, stable state funding, we can maximize the value of California's investment and accelerate delivery of high-speed infrastructure throughout the state."

The authority, under the leadership of Choudri, who took over in August 2024, has shifted its focus to state funds and the private sector in lieu of federal funds, which previous leaders had maintained would be essential to building out the long-struggling project.

On Dec. 23, the same day the CHSRA released the RFQ, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a voluntary notice of dismissal of its lawsuit against the Trump administration over the $4 billion funding termination. A CHSRA spokesperson told news outlets the move marked a "new opportunity" and that the federal government is "not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy" partner.

"Moving forward without the Trump administration's involvement allows the Authority to pursue proven global best practices used successfully by modern high-speed rail systems around the world," the spokesperson said.

The Federal Railroad Administration in July yanked the $4 billion of grants, saying California could not meet binding obligations it had made to receive federal funding. The state immediately sued, calling the move arbitrary and capricious. The funds had been held in escrow while the court battle played out.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy celebrated the move in a post on X. "Under @POTUS's leadership, we are protecting billions of American taxpayers' dollars from funding California's ridiculous train to nowhere. A great way to ring in the New Year," Duffy said.

The authority announced in May that it was looking for a private partner that would leverage an estimated $1 billion of annual future cap-and-trade revenue that Gov. Gavin Newsom added to the state's budget.

In June, the authority released a Request for Expressions of Interest, publishing the results of the RFI in September. More than 30 companies responded to the RFI, most of whom were particularly interested in design-build-finance-maintain or design-build-finance-operate-maintain structures with availability payments.

Some of the RFI respondents include prominent P3 names like Meridiam, ACS Infrastructure Development, Sacyr Infrastructure USA LLC and Plenary Americas.

With a price tag that's climbed to $128 billion for the full San Francisco to Los Angeles route, the California bullet train is considered the most expensive infrastructure project in the country. It's one of only a handful of high-speed train projects in the U.S., and the only one that's publicly owned.