A board vote on Oct. 28 will decide a Siemens Mobility deal worth up to $772.1 million for three California high-speed rail trainsets, plus up to $63.7 million for tariffs.
California High-Speed Rail Authority staff are asking the board to let the chief executive award and sign contract HSR23-18 with Siemens Mobility, the apparent best value proposer. The $772.1 million is a ceiling made up of three parts. A $281.7 million lump sum covers manufacturing, delivery and commissioning of three trainsets, and a $284.1 million lump sum pays for service mobilization, full service, spare parts and 10 years of maintenance. Provisional sums of up to $206.3 million cover escalation, currency fluctuations, taxes and other costs.
German-built trainsets and a tariff contingency
The three trainsets will be built in Germany, where final design, manufacturing and factory tests are to take place, before final testing and commissioning in California. Staff estimate import duties and tariffs at 20% of the trainsets’ cost. They want a separate contingency of up to $63.7 million to cover them, paid to the U.S. government directly or through a customs broker.
Approval would also lift the program baseline and budget by $195.9 million, to about $35.86 billion. On June 24, 2026, the board accepted the 2026 Program Baseline and Budget, which set a $35.66 billion capital expenditure plan. The increase comes from moving full service, spare parts and 10 years of maintenance, previously estimated in the operating expenditure plan, into the capital plan. The contract is funded through the authority’s commitment of Cap and Invest greenhouse gas reduction funds.
One proposal from two shortlisted bidders
Only the two shortlisted teams, Alstom Transportation and Siemens Mobility, received the request for proposals, and Siemens was the only one to submit a proposal. After evaluating it, the authority used its reserved right to request a best and final offer, after which Siemens was confirmed as the apparent best value proposer. The board approved the request for qualifications in August 2023 and the shortlist and the request for proposals in April 2024.
The terms follow an August 2026 revision of the procurement under the updated 2026 Business Plan. The order became three initial trainsets and 19 option trainsets, with no guarantee the options will be exercised, and federal Buy America requirements were removed for the initial trainsets. To match the authority’s track and systems construction contract, the August notice required the trains to be delivered and ready for dynamic testing in the Central Valley by February 2030. A presentation for the Oct. 28 meeting puts the start of testing on authority track in spring 2030. The authority also said it was considering a lease-purchase financing structure, while the requirements for 220 mph capability and FRA Tier III safety compliance did not change. Revised proposals were due Oct. 16, 2026.
How the trainset order changed since 2024
When the board approved the request for proposals in April 2024, the plan called for six trainsets. Two were to be prototypes for static and dynamic testing and four production units for revenue service on the Merced to Bakersfield segment, alongside a driving simulator and 30 years of maintenance that included a mid-life overhaul. It carried an option for up to 15 more trainsets, made compliance with Buy America provisions part of the evaluation and aimed for board approval of the award in the fourth quarter of 2024. The authority’s P50 estimate then, drawn from its 2023 Project Update Report, was $533.68 million for the six trainsets and the simulator. A month later, Brightline West named Siemens preferred bidder for 10 trainsets, a selection that included 30 years of maintenance and trains built under applicable Buy America requirements.
Scope of work, notices to proceed and options
The authority describes the trainset purchase as a priority for getting the Merced to Bakersfield Early Operating Segment into operation by 2033. The scope runs from design and manufacture through delivery, testing and maintenance, and includes spare parts, preventive and corrective maintenance and scheduled overhauls. Siemens would also provide on-site support for aligning and testing interfaces on authority track.
If the board agrees, the work would proceed through six notices to proceed, from NTP 0 for early works to NTP 5 for the start of revenue service. The contract also carries options for up to 19 more trainsets at prices fixed in the contract and for service extensions in five-year steps, for as long as 30 years in total. Those options are not part of this request, and staff would need to return to the board before using them. Small business participation requirements will apply to eligible subcontracting opportunities.
