In April 2012, the California High Speed Rail Authority announced a miracle. It could cut $30 billion off the cost of the project by downsizing project infrastructure in the Bay Area. It could share 50 miles of track with a commuter railroad that made frequent stops, without incurring any time penalty for doing so. While […]
Author Archive | CARRD
July 12, 2014: What is the big deal?
The STB today denied the Authority’s request to get its blessing for the next segment it wants to construct from Fresno to Bakersfield. The Authority apparently applied in September for a “conditional approval” to move forward with construction. It should be noted that as of September, the Authority hadn’t even decided which route it would […]
The winning bid: anything interesting?
The California High Speed Rail Authority has posted the first construction contract, as well as the bid package from eventual winner Tutor Perini + Parsons + Zachry. There are literally thousands of pages of information, but we noticed a few things. The Tutor JV failed to initially include financial information that would have highlighted Tutor’s […]
European experts weigh in on Authority’s operating cost model
By law, the California High Speed Rail Authority is supposed to eventually offer train service without any public operating subsidies. CHSRA’s claims that it could do so even on an abbreviated route like Merced to the San Fernando Valley were questioned on both the basis of revenue/ ridership forecasts that seemed high and an operating […]
The High Speed Rail Authority loses in court: does it matter?
On Friday August 16th, Judge Michael Kenny ruled that the “funding plan” the Authority adopted was an abuse of their discretion. Read the opinion. While the judge deferred to another hearing a decision about the consequences, the carefully worded opinion strongly hints that the consequences may be very significant indeed – possibly even a death […]
CHSRA Board: Don’t approve the contract today and are you sure you are under budget?
**Read our letter to the Board** The California High Speed Rail Authority Board is scheduled to approve a Design-Build contract for the civil engineering work for 29 miles (trackwork, stations and electrification will be done later). We are urging the Authority to defer this decision and we are also raising the issue that we believe […]
Changing the bid process: abuse of power and a bad idea
How is the California High Speed Rail Authority different from other agencies like Caltrans? It has a lot, lot more power. The Authority can move highways, build a railroad, move utilities, exercise eminent domain, enter into design-build contracts, issue debt and pretty much do whatever it wants with virtually none of the limitations that other […]
Once again, we struggle to get public documents from the Authority
LETTER CARRD SENT TO THE AUTHORITY TODAY In 2011, CARRD became frustrated with the California High Speed Rail Authority’s unwillingness to comply with basic provisions of California’s open government laws, which were made part of the State Constitution in 2004. We sent this letter to the board. The board followed our recommendations, including the […]
CHSRA Program Manager Progress Reports Through July 2011 Now Available
Read all the progress reports here. Every month, Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) must submit a lengthy progress report to the California High Speed Rail Authority detailing everything that is going on with the project. The reports cover budgeting issues, discuss what work was done and what issues have arisen. PB is the program manager for the […]
Out with the old and in with the new: New appointees to the Rail Authority Board
Governor Schwarzenegger made several appointments to the California High Speed Rail Authority Board on the eve of his departure. The Governor is allowed to appoint 5 of the 9 members of the Authority board, and none of those appointments require Senate confirmation. The Governor took action on three of the slots. According to the […]