California High-Speed Rail: Merced–Bakersfield

Alignment

The Merced–Bakersfield segment is the first part of the planned San Francisco–Los Angeles high-speed rail system to be built. It runs 171 miles down the San Joaquin Valley from Merced through Madera County, Fresno and Kings and Tulare counties to Bakersfield. The core is the 119-mile Central Valley Segment from Avenue 19 in Madera County to Poplar Avenue north of Bakersfield, built under four civil construction packages and including long viaducts such as the Hanford Viaduct over State Route 198. Extensions at each end would reach Merced and Bakersfield. As of the 2026 Business Plan, 81 miles of guideway and 61 structures were complete and ready for rail, 93% of utilities had been relocated, and all parcels had been delivered to the design-builders. Planned stations are Merced, Fresno (downtown, where the Authority is also restoring the historic Fresno Depot), Kings/Tulare (near Hanford) and Bakersfield, and the Authority is also evaluating a stop serving Madera.

The Authority’s 2026 plan scales back the first phase to cut costs. The Legislative Analyst’s Office describes it as a 162-mile “South Merced to North Bakersfield” early operating segment, with 144 of those miles single-tracked and simple at-grade terminal stations. South Merced would sit near Highway 99 and East Mission Avenue, about 3.5 miles south of the downtown site set in state law (SB 198), and the southern terminus would be about 6 miles north of the previously planned Bakersfield station. The early segment would carry eight trains a day in each direction, and riders would transfer to Amtrak’s Gold Runner (formerly the San Joaquins) and ACE at Madera. The full-scope version (171 miles of double track with downtown Merced and Bakersfield stations) was estimated at about $48 billion, compared with $35.7 billion for the early segment.

Updates

2026-11 — Track laying expected to start by year-end

An Authority spokesman said crews could start laying track on the Merced–Bakersfield segment as soon as the end of 2026, and that the Authority has $39 billion in funding on hand, most of it for this segment. In late October the board approved the environmental documents for the Los Angeles–Anaheim leg, completing environmental clearance for the 494-mile Phase 1 system.

2026-10 — CEO resigns; first trainsets ordered

CEO Ian Choudri resigned on October 28, citing personal and family priorities. His resignation followed a state inspector general probe that found nearly $600,000 in questionable consultant travel spending. The same day, the board approved a $772.1 million contract with Siemens Mobility to design, build and test three seven-car high-speed trains by 2030, plus up to $63.7 million for import duties and tariffs. In July the inspector general had warned that the Authority could run out of cash by December 2027.

2026-09 — Groups oppose moving the Merced station out of downtown

Community groups, represented by California Rural Legal Assistance, demanded that the Authority stop pursuing a station on rural land near Highway 99 and East Mission Avenue instead of downtown Merced. The Authority says the move would save about $1 billion. SB 198 calls for a downtown Merced station, so the Legislature would have to change the law to allow the move. Merced officials asked for a mitigation package before they would consider another site.

2026-06 — $3.5B track and systems contract awarded

The board approved a $3.5 billion contract with a Kiewit, Stacy and Witbeck, and Herzog team to install track, overhead contact system, train control and communications on the 119-mile Central Valley Segment. The final 2026 Business Plan puts the early operating segment at $35.7 billion against $39.3 billion of funding identified through 2045. It targets completion in 2032 and revenue service in 2033, and says the Authority will need to borrow against future cap-and-invest revenue to keep that schedule.

2026-04 — Draft plan shortens and single-tracks the first segment

The Legislative Analyst’s Office reported that the Draft 2026 Business Plan replaces the 171-mile downtown-to-downtown segment with a 162-mile South Merced–North Bakersfield segment, mostly single track, estimated at $36 billion. It put available funding at $39 billion, down from $43 billion after the loss of federal funds. The LAO noted that the Merced station site conflicts with SB 198.

2025-12 — State drops federal lawsuit and seeks a private partner

The Authority dropped its lawsuit over the terminated federal grants, concluding that the federal administration was not a reliable partner. Federal money now makes up less than 10% of program funding. In December 2025 it issued a request for qualifications for a private co-development partner, aiming to choose one by summer 2026.

2025-09 — Cap-and-invest extension guarantees $1 billion a year

Lawmakers extended the state’s cap-and-trade program, renamed cap-and-invest, to 2045 (AB 1207), and SB 840 guaranteed high-speed rail $1 billion a year starting in 2026. The Authority treats this as $1 billion a year through 2045, its first stable long-term funding source.

2025-07 — Federal government terminates about $4 billion in grants

The Federal Railroad Administration terminated about $4 billion in grants: the $3.1 billion Federal-State Partnership agreement and $928.6 million from earlier FRA awards made in 2010 and 2011. The Trump administration said the Authority had “no viable plan” to complete the Central Valley segment. The Authority sued to restore the funding.