High-Speed Rail Authority CEO says Central Valley portion will be done ‘in our lifetime’

For almost two years, California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri has had his sights set on how to keep the project moving.

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He promised during an annual conference on high-speed rail in Washington, D.C., this week that the Central Valley portion — which will span from Merced to Bakersfield — will be finished “in our lifetime.” Choudri said the railway is on track to secure a private investor to help fund the project by its June 1 Board of Trustees meeting, but that the rail authority is still open to more partners to come forward to speed things up. That will be a critical moment for the railway, which has been seeking out a private investor ever since the Trump administration pulled $4 billion in federal funding.

“If somebody comes up and says, ‘Hey, I can build something in LA’ … Look, we are open for that business,” he said during an interview with CNBC producer Jeniece Pettitt on Wednesday, referencing the yet-to-be-built tracks that are anticipated to span from Los Angeles to San Francisco at the railway’s completion. 

Choudri was appointed to the CEO job in the summer of 2024, with Gov. Gavin Newsom saying Choudri’s “deep experience and get-it-done attitude are impressive.” In touting Choudri’s appointment, Newsom said that the dream of a California-spanning bullet train finally “will become a reality.” 

Choudri knew the project had America’s attention. 

He has since been navigating the political swings and bureaucratic red tape involved in building a statewide railway that spans over what he said on Wednesday is 200 jurisdictions.

“I don’t think there’s any project like this in the world,” he said.

Choudri and the railway have been the focal point of Republican outrage. President Donald Trump called it “the worst managed project,” while Rep. Kevin Kiley, who recently changed from Republican to independent in an effort to win a redistricted reelection battle this year, proposed pulling the project’s funding, calling it “a textbook example of government failure.” Choudri likened the chatter to an obsession.

The project, he said, “for right or wrong reasons, has been subjected to every possible politics that you can use in the country. It is very unfortunate.” He went on to inquire about what he called “political football” that is high-speed rail. “What is this obsession with this one project in the country that is actually building something?” 

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Choudri also needs to overcome a legislative hurdle this year.

Democrats are trying to make changes to a 2022 law that said the project must first fund the Central Valley section. If legislators pass a bill to loosen those requirements, then other sections of the railway can start making headway.

“We can start next year, we can start this year,” Choudri said. He added at another point: “There are some constraints. Some of it is legislative.”

As discussions over that unfold in Sacramento, Choudri still insisted that “the project is moving forward in a very physical way.” 

The total estimated cost of the project is now $120 billion.

His mantra throughout the project has been “don’t underbuild; don’t overbuild, either.” Another playful metaphor he used Wednesday to describe making lemonade out of lemons: “We had to take this spaghetti and straighten it out.”