Note: Below is the Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) from the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) for all businesses that want to do business now or in the future on the high speed rail project. You will notice that many of the terms we are use to: DVBE, SDVOB, SBE, WOBE, MBE are missing. Basically, this will get your business on a list for future outreach events and possible bids. The HSRA wants to do the right thing for small businesses in the state. Currently, representatives of Caltrans and the Governors Office of Economic Development (GOED) are attending the planning meetings and insuring that the HSRA has an economic and legal plan that will be inclusive of all small businesses based upon the source of funding. This is the first step for your company to be included in this massive and monumental project.
February 9, 2011
Dear Colleagues,
With the approval of a $9.95 billion bond measure in 2008, Californians did their part to lead this nation onto the same transportation playing field occupied by much of Europe and Asia. In part because of that leadership, California has also received more federal funding than any other state in the nation: approximately $3.6 billion in this past year. And just yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden announced a longer-term federal commitment in line with President Obama’s vision to connect Americans with high-speed rail: $53 billion nationwide over the next six years.
We now need serious input from our stakeholders who are interested in participating in the future of this project.
This Request For Expressions of Interest (RFEI) has been developed for this reason. We are asking companies and organizations – small and large, privately and publicly owned, domestic and international, in all relevant fields – to outline your interest in the California high-speed rail project. This can apply to the initial construction segment – about 120 miles through California’s Central Valley – as well as to any future phase of the project, including its design, construction, financing, core systems, operations, and maintenance.
The RFEI gives you an opportunity to share, explicitly and in writing, what you have been telling the Authority throughout the development of this project and more. While a response to this RFEI is not a prerequisite to participating in the procurement process, and RFEI submissions will not be evaluated or “ranked,†we will use submissions to assist in shaping the procurement process, which will lead to the first official Request For Proposals (RFP) at the end of this calendar year.
Additionally, respondents to this RFEI will receive information about an industry forum that will take place in Southern California in the spring of 2011 to brief interested parties and to allow for further detailed conversation.
High-speed rail in California will mean a fast, affordable, convenient and clean way to travel between our state’s urban centers. It will mean alleviating pressure on our freeways and airports, and it will mean employing tens of thousands of workers to build a state-of-the-art system that will carry Californians 800 miles across their state at speeds reaching 220 miles per hour.
Make no mistake: this project requires the support of the people of California, a long-term commitment from the federal government, which now is more secure than ever, and a significant investment from the private sector. This begins with your active participation in the RFEI process. If the above link is not usable, please copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/rfei.aspx.
Please respond no later than March 16, 2011.
We truly look forward to hearing from you.
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