Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:

California

Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service

Description:

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) is responsible for planning, designing, building and operation of the first high-speed rail system in the nation. California high-speed rail will connect the mega-regions of the state, contribute to economic development and a cleaner environment, create jobs and preserve agricultural and protected lands. The system will run from San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin in under three hours at speeds capable of over 200 miles per hour. The system will eventually extend to Sacramento and San Diego, totaling 800 miles with up to 24 stations. In addition, the Authority is working with regional partners to implement a state-wide rail modernization plan that will invest billions of dollars in local and regional rail lines to meet the state’s 21st century transportation needs. 

The Locally Generated Alternative is located between the cities of Shafter and Bakersfield in the Central Valley and has been developed in cooperation with the City of Bakersfield, the City of Shafter, and Kern County.  It is approximately 23 miles long, includes a station option located at F Street and Golden State Avenue (State Route 204) and parallels existing railroad corridors within the Fresno to Bakersfield project section. 

On July 23, 2019, the State of California and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding pursuant to 23 USC 327 assigning to the state the FRA’s responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal environmental laws for implementing the California High-Speed Rail Project.  As a result, the Authority is the federal lead agency and responsible for the permitting timetable for this project.

In May 2014, the Board of Directors certified a Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIR/EIS) for the Fresno to Bakersfield project Section. The document identified a preferred alignment from the Fresno high-speed rail station to the Bakersfield high-speed rail station located at Truxtun Avenue.

In June 2014, the City of Bakersfield filed a lawsuit challenging the approval under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a result, the Authority and the City continued meeting in an effort to resolve the issues addressed by the litigation. In December 2014, the Authority and the City announced that they would study an alternative alignment, known as the Locally Generated Alternative, that includes a high-speed rail station at F Street and that the City of Fresno agreed to dismiss its CEQA lawsuit.