The California High-Speed Rail Authority has signed a Co-Development Agreement (CDA) with Momentum Alliance Partners, a consortium of infrastructure, rail and investment companies, to examine options for accelerating future expansion of the state’s high-speed rail network.
The agreement represents the Authority’s first co-development partnership focused on evaluating how private sector funding, expertise and delivery approaches could support extensions beyond the section currently under construction between Merced and Bakersfield.
Momentum Alliance Partners brings together firms involved in infrastructure investment, rail operations, engineering and commercial development. Members of the consortium include Plenary Americas, CDPQ Infra, Keolis, SNCF Voyageurs, Jacobs, Sener, SYSTRA, Setec, Arup and Steer.
Under the agreement, the partners will enter an initial six-month evaluation phase to assess potential strategies for accelerating future high-speed rail development across California. The work will focus on infrastructure sequencing, project delivery models, financing approaches, operational planning and opportunities for private sector participation.
The initiative forms part of the Authority’s broader strategy developed over the past year to support future network expansion, strengthen funding certainty and explore alternative delivery models.
Authority Chief Executive Officer Ian Choudri said:Over the past year, the Authority has taken significant steps to reposition California high-speed rail around a more commercially focused and delivery-oriented strategy designed to accelerate expansion into the state’s major population centers. This agreement reflects growing market confidence in that strategy and the long-term potential of California high-speed rail as a transformative investment in California’s future. As construction advances and we prepare to begin high-speed rail track installation this year, partnerships like this allow us to evaluate how private-sector expertise, financing and delivery models could help accelerate system expansion.
The consortium will also review opportunities for commercial development linked to the high-speed rail corridor. Areas under consideration include broadband and fibre networks, data infrastructure, utility and transmission corridors, station area development and land-use partnerships.
Such activities could provide additional revenue streams to support long-term financial sustainability and reduce reliance on public funding. The work will complement ongoing efforts to explore clean energy opportunities associated with the project.
Andy Kunz, President and CEO of U.S. High Speed Rail said:Bringing on a co-development partner is a major breakthrough for California High-Speed Rail. This opens the door to expand rapidly into major population centers in the Bay Area and Southern California behind the power of private capital.
Momentum Alliance Partners has experience delivering and operating major transport infrastructure projects internationally, including involvement in Montréal’s REM network, the Grand Paris Express programme, California High-Speed Rail and Brightline West.
Meanwhile, construction of the California high-speed rail project continues in the Central Valley. The Authority reports that 171 miles of the route between Merced and Bakersfield are currently under design or construction. More than 80 miles of guideway have been completed, while 61 major structures are finished and a further 30 are under construction across Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties.
The Authority also stated that 463 miles of the planned 494-mile route linking San Francisco with Los Angeles and Anaheim have now received environmental clearance.
Track and systems installation on the Central Valley segment is expected to begin later this year. The project has created nearly 19,200 jobs during construction and generated an estimated 25 billion USD in economic activity across California.
