California High-Speed Rail Chief Resigns After $600,000 Travel Audit
The resignation follows an Inspector General probe into consultant expenses and comes as the project's cost estimates rise to $126 billion.
By Mateo Thompson ·
Ian Choudri has stepped down as the executive director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. His departure follows a review of the agency's spending practices. The California High-Speed Rail Authority Office of the Inspector General investigated the move. The probe targeted roughly $600,000 in questionable travel expenses. These bills were submitted by consultants who did not take the train.
The financial scope of the project has expanded dramatically since voters approved it in 2008. Proposition 1A authorized $9.95 billion in bonds for the system. The original plan projected a total cost of about $45 billion. It promised a travel time of less than three hours between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The authority now estimates the first phase at $126 billion. The segment from Merced to Bakersfield alone is expected to cost nearly $35 billion.
Construction has focused on a 119-mile stretch in the Central Valley. The current schedule targets initial passenger service between Merced and Bakersfield for 2033. The authority scaled back the initial build to manage costs. It has not provided a clear explanation for why the budget increased by such a large margin. Riders will still need other forms of transport to reach major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The California Legislative Analyst's Office warned this year that funding may be insufficient to finish the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment. Extensions beyond the Central Valley face a funding gap in the tens of billions of dollars. No clear method exists to close that gap. The state has a reported true deficit of $20 billion.
Federal officials have also examined the project's compliance. The Federal Railroad Administration reviewed two grants totaling more than $4 billion. It moved to terminate funding based on that review. California disputed the findings and filed a lawsuit. The state later dropped the case after deciding the administration was not a reliable partner.
Ross Marchand is the executive director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. He stated that Choudri's resignation will not fix the project. He noted that leadership changes cannot close a multibillion-dollar gap. He argued that a new executive is unlikely to improve management.
The project was sold to voters as an efficient way to move between the state's major population centers. It has since faced perpetual delays and rising budgets. Marchand described the situation as a study in state-level fiscal mismanagement. He said it is time to end the project. He urged state lawmakers to officially sunset the initiative. He also advised politicians to reject similar mega-scale proposals in the future.
Choudri's exit marks the latest change in leadership for the rail authority. The agency continues to face scrutiny over how it spends taxpayer money. The next steps in the project remain under review by state officials.
