California High-Speed Rail Authority and Regional Agency Sign Agreement on Palmdale Station Planning

The California High-Speed Rail Authority and the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday. The High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency comprises Los Angeles County, LA Metro, Palmdale, Lancaster, Adelanto and Victorville.

It leads development of the High Desert Multipurpose Corridor, whose first phase is a high-speed intercity rail connection between Palmdale and Victor Valley spanning roughly 54 miles.

That segment would connect with Brightline West’s planned 218-mile electric passenger rail line from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, which includes a Victor Valley station. California’s high-speed rail project is intended to carry passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco at speeds up to 220 mph. Voters approved the project in 2008 with a planned 2020 completion.

Major segments from Merced to Bakersfield remain under design and construction. Nearly 90 miles of guideway are complete, 61 major structures are finished and 30 more are underway. On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announced nearly $2.5 billion allocated for more than 150 transportation projects statewide.

The Newsom administration’s transportation allocations for fiscal year 2025-26 total about $13.8 billion, including $257 million for mobility hubs in southwest Los Angeles County, $99 million for the Whiskey Creek Bridge renovation in Shasta County and $64 million for Interstate 215 work in Riverside County.

The authority is also advancing an asset commercialization strategy that identifies possible revenue sources such as solar farms, battery storage, data centers, fiber optic lines and transmission infrastructure along the right-of-way and on surplus land.