We’re nearing a major shift in the California High-Speed Rail project, as 2026 is the year when work will finally transition from civil construction to high-speed track laying.
It’s all made possible with the newly completed Southern Railhead Facility, a 150-acre logistics hub near Wasco in Kern County that will serve as a base for track laying and system installations.
Governor Newsom celebrated the opening of the Southern Railhead Facility at the beginning of February, declaring in a press release, “California isn’t waiting for the future. We’re building it.”
What is the Southern Railhead Facility?
The Southern Railhead Facility is a new railhead, meaning it’s a central location where construction materials and equipment are sorted and dispatched to work sites along the route. The massive yard includes rail storage areas, warehouses, maintenance and operations spaces, and more.
It is positioned in Kern County at the base of the Central Valley section of California’s High-Speed Rail route. This 171-mile corridor to the Merced and Bakersfield extensions is referred to as the Initial Operating Segment (IOS), of which 119 miles are under active heavy work. The last 11 years of civil construction here have involved the creation of major viaducts, bridges, embankments, and grade separations.
While the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has not yet laid any high-speed rail track, it has laid freight track to the Southern Railhead Facility, which allows rail, ties, ballast, and more equipment to be shipped and staged here.
What happens now?
While the completion of the Southern Railhead Facility is a major step toward track-laying in the Central Valley, the CHSRA is still deciding who will manage the next phase of construction.
In November 2025, they launched a $3.5 billion Request for Proposals, inviting qualified vendors to bid on the track & systems construction contract. CHSRA will award the contract to its chosen vendor by the end of Q2 of this year.
In the meantime, they are already procuring materials for the Southern Railhead Facility. If all goes to schedule, the winning vendor will start laying high-speed track along the 119-mile Central Valley stretch before the end of the year.
🌐 Learn more: California High-Speed Rail Authority