The California High-Speed Rail project has generated $21.8bn in economic activity after the California High-Speed Rail Authority invested $13bn between July 2006 and June 2024, supporting 109,000 job-years of employment.
The figures were released in the latest 2024 Economic Impact Analysis Report, which details the progress of the authority’s efforts to plan, design, and construct the “nation’s first high-speed rail system”.
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During the 18-year period the project generated $8.3bn in labour income, including wages, benefits, and business owner earnings.
In the fiscal year July 2023-June 2024, the project supported 16,600 job-years, contributing $1.3bn in labour income and $3.4bn in economic output.
Authority chief financial officer Jamey Matalka said: “The benefits of investing in a high-speed rail system continue to ripple through the California economy. This project is creating meaningful partnerships and jobs, lifting up disadvantaged communities and supporting greenhouse gas reduction goals.”
The California high-speed rail project is being undertaken in two phases. The 520-mile phase one of the project will link San Francisco to Anaheim through the Central Valley in under three hours. Phase two will expand the system to include Sacramento and San Diego.
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By GlobalDataMore than 1,000 private-sector firms have been contracted to build the system. Future jobs are expected to include maintenance yard workers, station managers, and other positions for operations and maintenance.
Contractors have hired workers statewide, and local businesses were engaged for goods and services, with workers’ earnings circulating in local and regional economies.
In the Central Valley, where significant construction is ongoing, approximately 10,350 job-years were supported in FY 2023/2024.
Additionally, 0.5% of the Authority’s expenditures in FY 2023/2024 went to contractors outside California, but 99% stayed within the US.
Upon completion of phase one, projections estimate the creation of 1,034,000 job-years, $86.3bn in labour income, and $221.8bn in total economic output.
Testing of the initial 171-mile Merced-Bakersfield electrified high-speed rail line under phase one is planned to commence in 2028.
Furthermore, the funding the Authority receives from the state’s Cap-and-Trade programme supports initiatives aimed at disadvantaged communities.
In FY 2023/2024, 71% of project expenditures were directed towards these communities, supporting the Cap-and-Trade programme’s aim of improving “public health, quality of life, and economic opportunities” in socially and economically challenged areas.
The Authority has also paid over $1.84bn to certified Small Businesses, Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises in California to facilitate their participation in the high-speed rail project.
