CA High Speed Rail Sends Out RFP For The Trains
The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Board of Directors took a major step toward bringing high-speed rail service to California by approving the release of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to industry for the nation’s first 220 mph electrified high-speed trainsets.
Today’s action is the first part of a two-step procurement process. The Authority anticipates getting Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from prospective trainset manufacturers in November 2023. Once received, the Authority will evaluate the SOQs and create a shortlist of qualified teams capable of delivering high-speed trainsets and release a Request for Proposal in the first quarter of 2024 to qualified teams.
The Authority has begun work to extend the 119 miles under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield. There are more than 30 active construction sites in California’s Central Valley, with the Authority having environmentally cleared 422 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin.