California's high-speed rail project moves step closer to becoming reality

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Traveling from Los Angeles to the Bay Area in under three hours is one step closer to becoming a reality.

The board of directors for the California High-Speed Rail Authority is releasing a request for proposals to build the nation's first 220 mph electrified trains.

They hope to award a contract by the end of this year and have already requested proposals from two pre-qualified firms, Alstom Transportation, Inc. and Siemens Mobility, Inc.

This is possible, in part, due to the record $3.1 billion federal grant the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded in December 2023, which included funding for new electric trains.

By the end of the decade, officials behind the project hope there can be electrified high-speed trains in service.

The project's development has created more than 13,000 construction jobs, mostly in the Central Valley, and has environmentally cleared 422 miles for construction of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to the Los Angeles Basin, according to officials.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority says the project will eventually extend into rail connections with Sacramento and San Diego.