USA: The California High-Speed Rail Authority has removed federal Buy America rules from the first trainsets it intends to procure — following the withdrawal of the federal grant that made those requirements applicable.

California high-speed rail signs consortium deal
Photo: State of California

The Authority set out the change in an Aug. 6 public notice of procurement revisions for RFP HSR23-18, which states that as of that date “no Contract has been executed with any party.” Alongside the removal of federal domestic preference requirements for the initial trainsets, the notice cuts the order to three initial trainsets plus 19 options carrying no guarantee, requires delivery and readiness for dynamic testing in the Central Valley no later than February 2030, and adds consideration of a lease-purchase financing structure.

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Buy America left with the federal grant that required it

Domestic preference obligations of this kind travel with federal money. The Federal-State Partnership grant that was to fund the trainsets is gone, and with it the legal hook.

In a statement to CBS News California, the Authority said it re-evaluated its train procurement after the grant was withdrawn and modified the contract to remove “provisions that had been federally required in connection with previously anticipated federal funding,” adding that the change reduces schedule risk.

The sequence is worth holding in view. A trainset contract was to be executed by the end of 2024 under the federal grant agreement; the missed milestone was one of several failures cited by the Federal Railroad Administration when it terminated roughly $4 billion in July 2025. The loss of that federal funding has now allowed the Authority to remove the domestic preference provisions attached to the trainset procurement.

Where the trains get built is now an open question

The notice names the two shortlisted vendors — Alstom Transportation Inc. and Siemens Mobility Inc. — but says nothing about where final assembly would occur. Removing a requirement is not a statement of intent. Alstom has high-speed train manufacturing operations in Hornell, New York, while Siemens Mobility is establishing a dedicated high-speed rail production facility in Horseheads, New York.

The domestic-content picture was already partial before August. In a final nonavailability waiver decided Nov. 29, 2024, FRA let the Authority use non-domestic aluminum car shells for six trainsets, along with signaling products, a turnout system and fire alarm systems, after finding those items were not produced in the United States. The same notice records that neither shortlisted manufacturer had indicated it could supply a fully Buy America-compliant trainset.

What the record still does not contain is an answer about assembly. CBS California Investigates asked the Authority whether the change means the trains will no longer be built in America; the written response did not address the question.

Element Under the original RFP After Aug. 6
Initial order Six trainsets Three, plus 19 options, no guarantee
Domestic content Federal Buy America requirements applied, subject to limited FRA waivers Removed for the initial trainsets
Delivery Milestones set in the earlier plan Delivered and ready for dynamic testing by February 2030
Financing No lease-purchase option named Lease-purchase structure under consideration
Performance 220 mph, FRA Tier III safety Unchanged

What the revision did not touch

The notice is explicit that the trainsets must still be capable of 220 mph operation and must satisfy all applicable FRA safety requirements for Tier III high-speed operations. Those two core requirements did not change; the sourcing, service scope and commercial terms did.

The Aug. 6 notice said the Authority intended to issue a request for revised proposals on Aug. 17, with submissions due Oct. 16, 2026. As of Aug. 20, its public procurement page continued to list the notice of proposed award and contract execution as to be determined.

That timetable now runs alongside a financing clock. The project’s Office of the Inspector General says the Authority could exhaust its current funding resources as soon as December 2027 if it does not secure financing.

California must now have three trainsets delivered and ready for dynamic testing in the Central Valley by February 2030 — but the revised procurement no longer requires those initial trains to comply with federal Buy America sourcing rules.

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