California considered developing a high-speed rail network for many years; as early as 1981, the State evaluated working with Japanese partners to construct a high-speed rail line in Southern California. However, planning did not begin in earnest until the mid-1990s. In 1996, the California Intercity High-Speed Rail Commission, which had investigated whether a high-speed train system could be possible in California, issued a report concluding that high-speed rail in the State was feasible. Following that report, the Legislature formed the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority), which is responsible for planning, building, and operating high-speed, intercity passenger rail service in the State. If completed, the high-speed rail system promises to transform how people travel in California and would be the first bullet train in the nation.
A part of the California State Transportation Agency, the Authority is overseen by board of directors (board). The Governor appoints five of the board's voting members, and the Legislature selects the other four, along with appointing one senator and one assemblymember to serve as nonvoting members. The board supervises the Authority's employees, who numbered more than 190 as of June 2018. In addition, since 2006 a consulting firm has helped manage the high-speed rail project by acting in a role that the Authority labels rail delivery partner (RDP consultants). As of June 2018, the RDP consultants had 485 staff working on the project. Figure 1 on the following page summarizes key events in the Authority's history, as well as projected completion dates for portions of the eventual rail system.