Rendering via California High Speed Rail Authority Facebook page

Construction on Fresno’s high-speed rail station could begin as early as 2027.

Margaret Cederoth, the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s director of planning and sustainability, confirmed the timeline at an open house meeting Wednesday in Fresno.

Cederoth said in an interview with Fresnoland that if plans stay on schedule, construction for the Fresno station could begin within the next four years.

“If we keep moving to schedule then we will be issuing bids in the 2026 timeframe,”  Cederoth said. “And moving to construction in 2027 and 2028.”

Authorities showed off design plans for the station located in Downtown and Chinatown, between H, G, Tulare and Fresno streets.

Plans for Fresno’s station, which would have two platforms measuring 1400 feet in length, were presented at a California High-Speed Rail Board of Directors meeting earlier this year.

Fresno’s high-speed rail station is one of four planned stations in the Central Valley that authorities hope will eventually connect San Francisco to Los Angeles. The other stations will be located in Merced, Kings/Tulare and Bakersfield.

The station at Fresno will be unique from the other Central Valley stations in that it will be the only station of the four to be “at grade,” meaning passengers will be able to board trains at ground level. The other stations in the Central Valley are expected to be elevated.

The Central Valley stations will be part of a high-speed rail network spanning over 800 miles, with 24 stations across the state. Current plans to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles are estimated to cost $89 billion to $128 billion, ​​according to the rail authority’s 2024 business plan.

Cederoth also said that a $20 million federal grant will be used to construct a zero-emissions mobility hub and plaza in Chinatown and another plaza on the downtown side. Moreover, part of the grant will be used to renovate the historic Southern Pacific Railroad Depot for accessibility and seismic retrofitting. 

Fresno’s station will also have an elevated pedestrian bridge connecting downtown and Chinatown, a detail that Chinatown business owners have emphasized to address the historic divide between the neighborhood and downtown since Fresno’s inception.

The station will also be shaded by a large canopy to cover passengers and pedestrians using the bridge.

“I think the canopy is one of these identifying features for high speed-rail and something that is going to be consistent at the different stations,” said Peter Sokoloff, the principal in charge of the joint venture design teams behind the Central Valley stations.

“We want to make sure that it shades passengers for as much of the day as possible and as much of the year as possible,” he added.

Those who attended the open house were invited to share their suggestions through sticky notes and interest forms. Renderings of the planned station also gave attendees a view into what the future station might look like. Those interested in future meetings by the California High-Speed Rail Authority can sign up for updates here.

Cederoth said that they plan on returning to Fresno either late this year or in January 2025 to show off their finalized designs to the community that incorporate elements and suggestions from Wednesday’s open house.

“We’ll also be doing ongoing technical working groups with the city and with transit providers and other community based organizations as well, so that we make sure we’re getting the details right as we move along,” Cederoth said. “We are laser-focused on getting an operating segment and we want to be having that system in service between 2030 and 2033.”

As it stands, Phase 1 of the high-speed rail project is primarily focused on connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. A second phase is currently in development that would create extensions connecting Merced to Sacramento and Los Angeles to San Diego.