California high-speed rail projects agree to collaborate

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger's office

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency in the hope of realizing cost savings for both passenger train projects.

The signers say the MOU signed Tuesday will deepen coordination between the two agencies, enabling them to reduce costs to the public and accelerate delivery through coordinated materials purchases and construction. 

The High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency is a government organization planning a 54-mile passenger rail link connecting the Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County to the Victor Valley in San Bernardino County.

The CHSRA is building a system to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles. The projects would connect in northern Los Angeles County in Palmdale.

The JPA's High Desert Corridor would connect the planned California high-speed line with Brightline West, the private company working to build high-speed rail from Las Vegas to Southern California.

"This MOU marks a major step forward in building a Southwest Regional High-Speed Rail Network that will connect Northern California, Southern California, and Las Vegas," Andy Kunz, president and CEO of the US High Speed Rail Association, a coalition of high-speed rail advocates, said in a statement.

HDC JPA involves Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority , the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster in Los Angeles County, and the cities of Adelanto and Victorville in San Bernardino County.

The MOU "is a pivotal step toward a fully connected, electrified high speed rail network across California," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the lone Republican among the county supervisors and chair of the JPA. Her supervisor district covers the High Desert parts of Los Angeles County.

"By coordinating planning, design and station integration at Palmdale, we're laying the groundwork for clean, modern mobility that will better link Southern California to the statewide system," Barger said. "This collaboration reflects our commitment to sustainable growth, reduced congestion and equitable benefits for our communities."

The MOU calls for the two agencies to "deepen coordination" on environmental clearances, station integration, and design, particularly at the Palmdale station where they will meet. 

"As we prepare to begin track, electrification and systems installation in the Central Valley later this year, this new partnership underscores the momentum behind building a clean, modern transportation system that will serve Californians for generations," Ian Choudri, chief executive officer of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said in a statement.

Under Choudri, who came on board in 2024, the Authority is focusing on "right-sizing" and managing contractor performance.

The Palmdale project was initially a highway project converted into high-speed rail, said Ezra Silk, political director of the U.S. High Speed Rail Coalition. It received initial funding from Measure M, a voter-approved sales tax for LA Metro, with about $1 billion committed, Silk said.

"This project could be moving into construction in the next few years," Silk said. "They are in the late planning and environmental review phase."

The MOU means CHSRA and the JPA will jointly purchase materials, Silk said.

For instance, CHSRA is purchasing ties to lay track toward the end of the year, and CHSRA is stockpiling track in its warehouses. The JPA could purchase directly from the high-speed rail authority, so it reduces the cost for both projects, Silk said.

"This means the southwest corridor project is starting to become real, rather than just a talking point," he said.