CHSRA, City of Palmdale Team on Station Project

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) and the city of Palmdale have entered into an agreement to supply matching funds for a $1.35 million RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that, if awarded, would support completion of the city’s Station Implementation Master Plan.

CHSRA is requesting the RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant to advance, in close collaboration with the city, the conceptual design for the future Palmdale rail and transit center. RAISE applications were due July 12.

The station is part of the approximately 80-mile Bakersfield-Palmdale segment of the Phase 1 high speed rail system that will connect San Francisco and the Bay Area to Los Angeles/Anaheim. Phase I is currently under construction in the Central Valley along 119 miles at 35 construction sites. (CHSRA in June released for Board approval the Final Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement for the Bakersfield-Palmdale project.)

The station is slated to link California high speed rail, Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) and Brightline West service, “creating a seamless connection between California high speed rail and Brightline’s planned high speed rail service to Las Vegas via Palmdale,” according to CHSRA. (Earlier this month, Brightline Holdings purchased 110 acres of land at the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard for its Brightline West terminal, part of a planned $8.4 billion high speed rail project connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.) Other agencies, including Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority and the Antelope Valley Transit Authority, are also collaborating on the station, CHSRA reported.

“This is a huge step forward in improving transportation connectivity between the Antelope Valley and the Central Valley, which will boost economic vitality both locally and statewide,” Palmdale Mayor Steve Hofbauer said. “Furthermore, the project will integrate with other modes of transportation, which will mitigate traffic congestion, manage efficient movement of people through and in-between urban centers, and protect our environment through reduced carbon emissions and healthier air quality.”

“We are committed to bringing clean, electrified high-speed rail to Southern California,” CHSRA Southern California Regional Director LaDonna DiCamillo said. “We are actively working with our local partners on projects such as this, aimed at bringing short and long-term benefits to millions of Californians. High-speed rail service was always envisioned by voters to connect riders across Southern California and statewide—this partnership is another step in making that happen.”