California High-Speed Rail:
What's Been Spent, What's Been Built

Status summary

What has been built, and what remains?

Active construction is concentrated in the Central Valley. As of June 2026, guideway work was complete on 89 of 119 miles. “Guideway” means the earthwork and rough grading are done — it does not mean rails or mainline track have been installed.

Over the same period, 65 of 92 civil structures — bridges, viaducts, grade separations and undercrossings — had their concrete work complete and were ready for punch-list, certification and then track installation or opening. This does not mean every structure has finished all certification and closeout work.

No mainline high-speed track has been laid. The only rail installed so far is temporary railhead staging track used to move construction materials, which is not mainline high-speed track.^[D]

Three different mileage figures describe this project and should not be confused: 119 miles is the Central Valley civil-construction stretch now being built; 162 miles is the Authority's current, reduced Merced–Bakersfield plan; and 171 miles is the reference scope set by state law. The progress figures above describe civil work on the 119-mile stretch — not miles of finished or operating railroad.

What has been spent, and what might completion cost?

The Authority reports $15.622 billion in cumulative program spending through June 30, 2026, across all funding sources combined.^[C] This is money already spent — not an estimate of what the whole project will cost.

The cost estimates below are for different, nested scopes and must never be added together. From the Authority's Final 2026 Business Plan: the 119-mile Central Valley civil segment is estimated at $20.115 billion, which is included within the Authority's $35.662 billion estimate for its reduced Merced–Bakersfield delivery scope; that Merced–Bakersfield scope is in turn part of the Authority's larger statewide Phase 1 estimate. The Business Plan also presents a $47.654 billion estimate for the 171-mile dual-track scope defined by state law (SB 198). The Inspector General reports and critiques that Authority estimate; it is not an Inspector General forecast.

The Authority estimates $35.662 billion for its reduced Merced–Bakersfield plan. The Inspector General calculates a total of $42.3–45.3 billion after adding financing costs, additional contingency, shared-benefit costs and costs associated with the Shafter agreement. The Authority has identified $39.3 billion in capital funding through 2045.^[G] (Table 4, printed page 8.) Larger statewide estimates are set out in the table below.

The Authority estimates $126.076 billion for the larger statewide Phase 1 system. That is an estimated total cost, not an additional amount to add to the money already spent.

What could delay passenger service?

The Authority currently plans to begin Merced–Bakersfield passenger service in 2033.^[F] Its own risk-based schedule extends a modeled completion window to September 2034; that date is the end of the Authority's modeled window, not a verified passenger-service date.

The biggest near-term risk is money. The Inspector General's July 31, 2026 review warns that currently available program funding could run out as soon as December 2027 without new financing, and estimates $3.6 billion to $6.6 billion in added financing costs if short-term borrowing is used to keep construction going beyond that date. The Inspector General also cautions that the schedule model's optimistic assumptions may make even the September 2034 window insufficient.

Major delivery steps also remain: installing mainline track, building and testing operating and signaling systems, and procuring trains — none of which is complete.

What has independent oversight found?

In its July 31, 2026 review of the 2026 Business Plan, the Inspector General also finds that significant costs are excluded from the Authority's main estimate and cautions that the Authority's schedule assumptions may be too optimistic.

A separate Inspector General investigation examined consultant travel reimbursements, summarized below.

• September 15, 2026

  Inspector General reviews consultant travel reimbursements

  The Office of the Inspector General reviewed consultant travel costs the Authority paid during fiscal years 2024–25 and 2025–26. It found that $800,900 of the reviewed payments lacked documented advance approval, and separately identified $595,600 in distinct payments that appeared unallowable under state travel regulations, contract terms, or both — not all payments that lacked advance approval were found unallowable. The Authority said it would strengthen its controls, review the claims and seek reimbursement for improper costs, with corrective actions scheduled through March 2027 and an Inspector General follow-up review planned.

  The OIG travel-expense findings are already contained within program expenditures and are not added on top of the $15.622B figure.

  Source: OIG Investigative Report concerning consultant travel expenses, September 15, 2026

How many people are working on it?

The Authority's Jobs page records 19,175 cumulative Community Benefits Agreement construction jobs as of May 1, 2026, counted across the life of Central Valley construction contracts. Because one worker may hold more than one job and each is counted separately, this is a cumulative count over several years — not the number of people on site at once, and not permanent manufacturing employment.

For a same-time picture, the Central Valley Status Report shows an average of 1,351 workers on site each day in June 2026.

Have the trains been ordered?

No contract to build the trains has been signed. The Authority's August 6, 2026 Public Notice of Trainset Procurement Revisions covers 3 initial trainsets plus 19 unguaranteed options; the options are contingent and are not a signed order, and the notice of proposed award and contract execution are still to be decided.^[I]

This train-building procurement is separate from the track-and-systems construction work, which is contracted separately; “no signed train-building contract” does not describe that separate track-and-systems contract.

What does the private partnership cover?

The reported partnership with the Global Infrastructure and Investment Consortium (Momentum) is an evaluation and predevelopment agreement. It does not commit private money to construction and does not add to the funded program balance.

Describing the partnership as committed private construction funding would be inaccurate on the current record.

Source: ^[K]

What should readers watch next?

• The December 2027 funding horizon and whether new financing is secured.
• Progress on mainline track installation, which has not yet begun.
• A signed contract to build the trainsets.
• Updates to the Authority's schedule and the Inspector General's follow-up reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• [A] Federal grant termination (2025 Project Update Report, printed page 20) — California High-Speed Rail Authority
• [B] Federal grants and lawsuit withdrawal — California High-Speed Rail Authority
• [C] California High-Speed Rail Authority, August 2026 Capital Outlay Budget and Expenditures Report — California High-Speed Rail Authority
• [D] California High-Speed Rail Authority, August 2026 Central Valley Status Report — California High-Speed Rail Authority
• [E] August 6, 2026 Public Notice of Trainset Procurement Revisions — California High-Speed Rail Authority
• [F] California High-Speed Rail Authority, Final 2026 Business Plan — California High-Speed Rail Authority
• [G] California High-Speed Rail Office of the Inspector General, Review of the 2026 Business Plan, July 31, 2026 — California High-Speed Rail Office of the Inspector General
• [H] California High-Speed Rail Authority Jobs page — California High-Speed Rail Authority
• [I] Official High-Speed Trainsets and Related Services procurement page — California High-Speed Rail Authority
• [J] OIG Investigative Report concerning consultant travel expenses, September 15, 2026 — California High-Speed Rail Office of the Inspector General
• [K] Authority News Release — Global Infrastructure and Investment Consortium Joins California High-Speed Rail (June 24, 2026) — California High-Speed Rail Authority

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