California high-speed rail expansion will receive financing and delivery support through a co-development agreement between the California High-Speed Rail Authority and Momentum Alliance Partners, a consortium of infrastructure, investment and rail operations firms.

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

Keolis and SNCF Voyageurs⁠ are among the consortium members and will provide operations and maintenance expertise. The agreement⁠ is intended to advance the projects through potential public-private partnership structures and long-term infrastructure commercialization.

Operations role in California high-speed rail

Keolis is the largest contract operator of commuter rail services in the United States. SNCF Voyageurs is the state-owned operating subsidiary of SNCF, the French national railway company, officially known as Société nationale des chemins de fer français.

Keolis North America CEO Brad Thomas said in a press release:

“We are proud to be a part of Momentum Alliance Partners on what will be the first true high-speed rail project in the United States,”

“… With our local skill sets and international capabilities, we’re in a unique position to drive the future of rail in the United States in partnership with public authorities.”

SNCF Voyageurs CEO Christophe Fanichet said the company’s selection as part of the consortium recognizes its high-speed rail know-how. He said that expertise would support the development of “a high-quality rail service in the United States, which will meet the needs and transformation of passenger travel, whilst contributing to the development of sustainable mobility.”

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Consortium to study expansion options

The consortium also includes Plenary Americas, CDPQ Infra, Jacobs, Sener, SYSTRA, Setec, Arup and Steer. The parties will now enter a co-development phase to identify ways to accelerate expansion of the California high-speed rail project beyond the Merced-to-Bakersfield section already under construction.

California High-Speed Rail bridge construction over Dutch John Cut
Archive photo of California High-Speed Rail bridge construction over Dutch John Cut. Photo: California High-Speed Rail Authority / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Context

The agreement comes as California high-speed rail construction is already active across 119 miles in the Central Valley. The Authority says design and pre-construction work is underway to extend that segment from Merced to Bakersfield, while 463 miles of the 494-mile Phase 1 system between San Francisco and Anaheim are environmentally cleared and construction ready. This makes the consortium’s role relevant to the project’s next expansion steps, not only to the section currently under construction.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority said the agreement differs from a standard consulting contract because of its collaborative structure.

Authority CEO Ian Choudri said in a press release:

“This agreement reflects growing market confidence in that strategy and the long-term potential of California high-speed rail as a transformative investment in California’s future,”

“As construction advances and we prepare to begin high-speed rail track installation this year, partnerships like this allow us to evaluate how private-sector expertise, financing and delivery models could help accelerate system expansion.”

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