High-speed rail agency in California gets new CEO. What experience does he bring?
A transportation executive with experience in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America has been named to be the new chief executive officer for the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
Ian Choudri, currently a senior vice president with transportation firm HNTB, was appointed by the state rail agency’s board at its meeting Thursday in Sacramento. He will succeed Brian Kelly, who is retiring after six years as head of the authority.
HTNB is one of many companies contracting with the state rail authority as it moves slowly toward the development of a bullet-train system. The company’s three current contracts amount to a total of more than $261.1 million, including almost $139 million for project and construction management for work already underway on a segment of the route from the Tulare-Kern county line to the city Shafter, northwest of Bakersfield.
Tom Richards, chairman of the rail agency’s board of directors and a Fresno developer, said Choudri’s “strong understanding of complex transportation projects will help build on the progress we’ve been making and lead the organization forward on a path to passenger service.”
Construction in the San Joaquin Valley is ongoing for what is billed as an initial 171-mile operating route between Merced and Bakersfield, with a goal of having electric-powered trains carrying passengers at up to 220 mph by between 2030 and 2033.
The authority’s announcement following a closed-session meeting of the board states that Choudri’s experience in transportation includes work on high-speed rail projects in France and Spain.
““I’m humbled by today’s Board of Directors decision,” Choudri said in a statement released by the rail agency. “This is a once in a lifetime project that has the attention of the nation. I look forward to joining the ranks of the dedicated employees at the Authority, rolling up my sleeves and working collectively to make our mark on high-speed rail in California.”
High-Speed Rail Authority CEO work history
As senior VP at HNTB since mid-2016, Choudri has been the company’s national business development director for transportation infrastructure, according to his LinkedIn profile. The rail authority reports that Choudri’s work in California has included developing connections in Southern California between Ontario International Airport and the future Brightline West high-speed rail project.
From 2013 to 2016, he was a vice president and operations manager in western North America for Parsons Corporation, which has previously been a contractor for the California rail authority.
Choudri also worked as a senior project director for Bechtel Civil Infrastructure, dealing with rail and port projects; and for Alstom, a French multinational company whose business includes building high-speed trains, as a commercial director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Gavin Newsom and state’s bullet train plan
California Gov. Gavin Newsom praised Choudri’s selection. “Ian’s deep experience and get-it-done attitude are impressive, and he’s taking control at an important moment for this project,” Newsom said. “Over the next few years, the dream of high-speed rail in California will become a reality, as we begin to lay track, design and build stations, and buy trains. Ian is the perfect steward for the next phase of high-speed rail.”
The state’s high-speed rail program has been beset by an array of challenges for more than a decade, from lawsuits to schedule delays to escalating cost projections. Along the way, the scope for the first operating line was scaled down by Newsom from a proposed San Joaquin Valley-to-Silicon Valley line from Bakersfield to San Jose to a Merced-Bakersfield segment because of limitations on the money available for construction.
What was envisioned in 2008 as a statewide system linking San Francisco and Los Angeles at a cost of about $43 billion by the early 2020s was hit by cost estimates that skyrocketed in 2011 to nearly $100 billion.
The current plan for Merced-Bakersfield would not be extended to either the San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles until firm sources of money can be identified for that work.
In the meantime, the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s 2024 Business Plan now forecasts the cost for the planned 171-mile stretch from downtown Merced to downtown Bakersfield within a range from $26.2 billion to almost $33 billion. Construction in the Valley began in 2013 on the first of three contract sections between Madera and Shafter.
