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Artistic rendering of a CAHSR high-speed train running in the Central Valley. No trainsets have been selected as yet, so the exact image is not known.

THIS WILL SHORTLY BE EDITED WHEN NEW TRAINSET INFO IS AVAILABLE

There are many steps necessary before the California High-Speed Rail system gets its trains in service (not all of these need be in this order):

1. A Request for Proposals (RFP) needs to be sent to interested vendors specifying exactly what the California High-Speed Rail Authority is looking for. (RFPs were sent out in 2015).
2. The Authority has to acquire funding to pay for the trains. (A funding proposal for six trainsets was submitted to the Biden Administration in 2022.)
3. Interested train vendors need to do preliminary design work and submit proposals to the Authority, and then the Authority will need to select one. (No vendor has been selected as yet.)
4. After a vendor is selected, it must manufacture the trainsets, (No trainsets have been manufactured as yet.)
5. The HSR Interim Initial Operating Segment (IOS) will need to have roadbed, trackage, power, and control systems in place before trains can be tested on the HSR track. (These infrastructure items are in process, but not expected to be ready for use by trains until the mid-2020s.)

Requests for proposal

In January 2015, the Authority issued a request for proposal (RFP) for complete trainsets. The proposals received will be reviewed so that acceptable bidders can be selected, and then requests for bids will be sent out.

In February 2015, ten companies formally expressed interest in producing trainsets for the system: Alstom, AnsaldoBreda (now Hitachi Rail Italy), Bombardier Transportation, CSR, Hyundai Rotem, Kawasaki Rail Car, Siemens, Sun Group U.S.A. partnered with CNR Tangshan, and Talgo. CSR merged with CNR in June 2015 to form CRRC Corporation, bringing the number of companies down to eight. Bombardier Transportation completed its merge with Alstom by January 2021.

Due to company acquisitions and mergers, the number of companies now qualified for the tender is seven. The qualified companies are Alstom, Siemens Mobility, Talgo, Hitachi Rail Italy, CRRC, Hyundai Rotem, and Kawasaki Rail Car.

An additional factor for the selection of a model is the Buy America regulation. The Federal Railroad Administration granted a waiver for two prototypes to be manufactured off-shore. The remaining trainsets would need to be built according to the rules. This requirement was mentioned as a significant reason that Chinese manufacturers dropped out of the Brightline West (then known as XpressWest) project with similar technical trainset specifications.

Train specifications

In addition to many other requirements, the 105 page train specification document specified:

• each trainset will have a sustained continuous speed of 220 mph (350 km/h);
• a maximum testing speed of 242 mph (389 km/h);
• a lifespan of at least 30 years;
• a length no longer than about 680 feet (210 m);
• the ability to operate two trainsets as a single "consist" (a long train);
• have control cabs at both ends of each trainset and the ability to go equally well in either direction;
• pass-by noise levels (82 feet (25 m) from track) not to exceed 88 dB at 155 mph (249 km/h) and 96 dB at 220 mph (350 km/h);
• have at least 450 seats and carry 8 bicycles;
• have seating for first class and business class passengers as well as space for wheelchairs;
• have food service similar to airplane-style serving;
• allow for use of cellphones, broadband wireless internet access, and onboard entertainment services;
• have a train communications network to notify passengers of travel / train / station / time information; and
• have earthquake safety systems for safe stopping and exiting.

The following renderings of the train interior are shown on page 19 of the 2023 Project Update Report.

Acquisition

Included in a May 2022 grant request to the Biden administration is a request for funds to purchase six HSR trainsets. It is estimated that for the entire Phase 1 system up to 95 trainsets might be required.

In January 2015, the Authority issued a request for proposal (RFP) for complete trainsets. The proposals received will be reviewed so that acceptable bidders can be selected, and then requests for bids will be sent out.

In February 2015, ten companies formally expressed interest in producing trainsets for the system: Alstom, AnsaldoBreda (now Hitachi Rail Italy), Bombardier Transportation, CSR, Hyundai Rotem, Kawasaki Rail Car, Siemens, Sun Group U.S.A. partnered with CNR Tangshan, and Talgo.

Due to company acquisitions and mergers since then (CSR merged with CNR, and Bombardier Transportation merged with Alstom), the number of companies now qualified for the tender is seven. The qualified companies are Alstom, Siemens Mobility, Talgo, Hitachi Rail Italy, CRRC, Hyundai Rotem, and Kawasaki Rail Car.

An additional factor for the selection of a model is the Buy America regulation for production of rolling stock in the US. The Federal Railroad Administration granted a waiver for two prototypes to be manufactured off-shore. The remaining trainsets would need to be built according to the rules. This requirement was mentioned as a significant reason that Chinese manufacturers dropped out of the Brightline West (then known as XpressWest) project with similar technical trainset specifications.

Included in a May 2022 grant request to the Biden administration is a request for funds to purchase six HSR trainsets. The 2023 Project Update Report projects the purchase of these to be made in 2024.

The 2023 Project Update Report states that for the entire Phase 1 system 66 trainsets will be needed.

Train design and station-sharing

The CAHSR trains will use a different standard than Caltrain for their floor height above the rails. The CAHSR trains have a floor height of 50.5 in (128 cm) above the rails, which is significantly higher than the 22 in (56 cm) floors of Caltrain's commuter trainsets. To resolve this issue, Caltrain is procuring new Stadler KISS EMUs that have doors at both heights. Each train platform uses either one height or the other, and only a few of the Bay Area stations will service both types of trainsets. Thus, in the Bay Area most of the stations will be used exclusively by Caltrain and not be able to support CAHSR trainsets.