CA High-Speed Rail Faces 2-Year Delay

March 30, 2021

The opening of the California high speed rail stretch between Bakersfield and Merced is likely to be delayed another two years, the California Globe reports. In a letter obtained by the Los Angeles Times Dragados, the company building the rail, notified the California High Speed Rail Authority of changing orders due to a lack of land to build on due to the California High-Speed Rail Authority of changing orders due to “a lack of land to build on.” according to the article, the rail authority was not buying parcels fast enough. The firm also complained of a “stop and go construction schedule.”

In Kings County alone, the report says a 65-mile stretch of track originally planned for completion in 2023 was revised for an April 2025 opening due to the slow rate of land acquisition. At the beginning of 2021, 264 more parcels were needed in Kings County. In January only 9 were bought, throwing off construction estimates due to the slow pace. 

State plans for larger openings later in the decade are also likely to be affected, as is the price for the rail network.