California High-Speed Train Project
California, United States
Client: California High-Speed Rail Authority
Parsons Brinckerhoff Role: Program Management
One of the largest, most ambitious public transportation programs in U.S. history, the California High-Speed Train Project will allow passengers to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco at speeds of up to 220 miles (354 kilometers) per hour, making the trip in just 2 hours and 40 minutes, compared to almost 6 hours by automobile.
The first phase of the planned 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) network will run from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area through California’s Central Valley, with subsequent phases connecting to San Diego and Sacramento. Funding already is in place to begin construction, planned for 2012, on an initial segment between Bakersfield and Fresno. With annual ridership of nearly 100 million passengers when the system is fully completed, the California High-Speed Train Project will transform the way Californians travel, while reduce growing freeway and airport congestion and reduce carbon emissions by 12 billion pounds annually.
Parsons Brinckerhoff is serving as the program manager, leading the planning and oversight of the environmental process through the completion of design, construction, commissioning and final implementation of the project on behalf of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. In addition to coordinating the activities of more than 100 consultant firms and the interface between the Authority and other transit, rail and public authorities in California, Parsons Brinckerhoff is responsible for developing the criteria and technical standards that will define high-speed train systems in the United States and ensure a safe, reliable operation. Other key Parsons Brinckerhoff responsibilities include equipment specification, preliminary engineering, HSR service and operations planning, and the procurement of system-wide design-build contracts.