NEWS RELEASE: Sustainability at Core of California High-Speed Rail Program

Clean Construction Practices

• Requiring efficient construction equipment mandates, requiring all contractors working on the high-speed rail system to use equipment that reduces air pollution.
• Planting trees to offset emissions and provide residents shade, resulting in significant greenhouse gas reductions.
• Diverting 95% of all waste from landfills through recycling, reusing and composting of non-hazardous materials.
• Pledging through the Voluntary Emissions Reduction Agreements (VERA) program to offset each ton of air pollutant emitted during construction within local air quality districts.
• Minimizing impacts to wildlife by building rail alignment on elevated viaducts, bridges, and crossings to allow unobstructed passage by animals and waterways.
• Tracking the greenhouse gas and air quality emissions construction generates, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by creating more offsets than emissions during construction.

Economic and Community Impact

• Driving economic growth and job creation, with 99% of expenditures going to California businesses and workers, two-thirds of which are benefiting disadvantaged communities.
• Employing 1,600 construction workers daily.
• Empowering more than 250 individuals who have graduated from the Central Valley Training Center in Selma.
• Creating more than 15,000 jobs, with over 25 construction sites along 119 miles of active construction.

Sustainability and Natural Resources Conservation

• Prioritizing pedestrian access and integration with other transit systems to create regional, intermodal hubs, making high-speed rail stations magnets for sustainable development to curb suburban sprawl.
• Working with local cities to develop station area plans ensuring stations reflect and complement existing communities while driving economic growth.
• Protecting a total of 3,190 acres to date of farmland through conservation easements.
• Preserving and restoring more than 4,400 acres of open land, including 151 acres of wetlands, to mitigate impacts of building the system.

Just last month the Authority announced next steps in securing a Central Valley Photovoltaic and Battery Energy Storage System, which will produce and store energy in battery systems to ensure uninterrupted rail operations and enhance energy resilience, lower operational costs, and reduce reliance on the traditional power grid.

The high-speed rail system will operate on 100% renewable energy, reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions by 0.6 to 3 million MTCO₂e annually – this is the equivalent of removing 142,000 to 700,000 cars off the road. The Authority is committed to supporting the state’s strong advocacy for environmental protection and climate action.

Construction of the high-speed rail project is happening every day. There are currently 171 miles under design and construction from Merced to Bakersfield.

Click here for more information on the Authority’s contributions to California’s sustainable future.

Interviews in Spanish are available upon request. For more information, contact the Authority’s media relations office at: news@hsr.ca.gov

Se ofrecen entrevistas en Español bajo solicitud. Para obtener más información, contacte a la Oficina de Relaciones con los Medios por correo electrónico: news@hsr.ca.gov

For the latest on high-speed rail construction, visit: www.buildhsr.comExternal Link

The following link contains recent video, animations, photography, press center resources and latest renderings: https://hsra.app.box.com/s/vyvjv9hckwl1dk603ju15u07fdfir2q8External Link

Files are all available for free use, courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

SOURCE: https://hsr.ca.gov/2025/04/22/news-release-sustainability-at-core-of-california-high-speed-rail-program/