Train passengers will be able to travel through America’s richest and most famous state in just a few hours once this exciting new £60-billion-pound high-speed rail network is complete within the next decade.
The California High-Speed Rail (CHSR) will carry trains capable of speeds of nearly 210mph along track connecting the major cities of the north and south of the region.
The line will run from Sacramento, at its northern most point, heading down to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and finally San Diego, covering more than 800 miles with up to 24 stations.
Project bosses say the super fast track will “connect the mega-regions of the state, contribute to economic development and a cleaner environment, create jobs and preserve agricultural and protected lands.”
In a win for British rail business, firm Network Rail Consulting Inc will also have a role to play in delivering the train line with a £57.5m contract to provide “systems engineering services”, according to train news site Railtech.
Although often seen as glamorous because of the Hollywood connection, California also suffers will congestion around major cities like Los Angeles that developers are hoping the new rail network will tackle.
CHSRA Central Valley regional director Garth Fernandez told New Civil Engineer would slash journey times between major cities.
He said: “A trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco could be done in less than three hours. Right now, by road, it could take up to eight hours depending on congestion.”
“The need for a high speed rail service first started coming into the conversation in California in the 1980s. It got momentum in the 1990s and in 1996 CHSRA was established [by the state].”
California is the most populous state in the USA, with more than 38 million residents, and also the third largest with a total length of more than 760 miles.
Almost 14.3 million cars are registered in the state and most people travel between the major cities either by air or by road.
The first sections of the massive rail network building project will connect Los Angeles and San Francisco, with phase II adding San Diego and Saramento by 2033.
