CHSRA Shortlists Alstom, Siemens as Potential Suppliers

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) on Jan. 5 announced that Alstom Transportation Inc. and Siemens Mobility Inc. have been shortlisted as qualified bidders for its electrified high-speed trainsets.

On the heels of the nearly $3.1 billion federal investment for California’s high-speed rail project, which includes funding for new electric trains, the identification of the shortlisted teams is “an important step toward the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP) and procurement of state-of-the-art electrified high-speed trainsets capable of operating at speeds up to 220 mph,” according to CHSRA.

“These world-class vendors ensure that we are procuring the latest generation of high-speed trains,” said CHSRA CEO Brian Kelly. “With this recent federal grant, we are able to move forward with this major step on the project, purchasing trains capable of speeds of more than 220 mph to move passengers here in California in a way that transforms the passenger rail experience.”

On Aug. 24, 2023, CHSRA’s Board of Directors approved the release of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the trainsets and related services contract. This contract will comply with the Buy America Act, and this procurement will result in a supply-maintain contract for the provision of trainsets, a driving simulator, and related services. CHSRA says it anticipates releasing the RFP in the coming months, followed by award of a contract later this year.

The Trainset and Related Services contract will be funded in part by the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (Fed-State National) Program grant that CHSRA received in December 2023. The scope of work for the contract is anticipated to include:

• The design, manufacture, storage (prior to conditional acceptance), integration, testing and commissioning of the trainsets.
• Maintenance of each trainset for 30 years and provision of all spares (i.e., interchangeable parts of a trainset) for such trainsets.
• The provision, testing, commissioning, maintenance, and update of the driving simulator.
• Development and provision of design criteria to inform interfaces with the facilities, track, systems, and stations.
• Participating in the testing and commissioning of the facilities, track, systems, and stations.
• The development and provision of information as required to support the certification and subsequent commissioning of the trainsets.
• The operation and maintenance of the trainset maintenance-related equipment installed in the Heavy Maintenance Facility, Light Maintenance Facility and Trainset Certification Facility (to be built by others).

Since the start of construction, CHSRA has created more than 12,000 construction jobs, a majority going to residents from the Central Valley. On average, nearly 1,500 workers are dispatched to a high-speed rail construction site daily. CHSRA has begun work to extend the 119 miles under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield.

There are more than 25 active construction sites in California’s Central Valley, with CHSRA having also environmentally cleared 422 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin.