Head of California High-Speed Rail Resigns Amid Travel Expense Scandal

Mere weeks after he was stripped of contract authority after a damning audit, CA high-speed rail CEO Ian Choudri resigned on Thursday, citing a need to focus on personal and family priorities.

In the emailed resignation letter obtained by CalMatters, Choudri wrote: “This has not been an easy decision, as leading the Authority has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding chapters of my professional life.” He also stated he was proud to have taken on a challenged project and led a “turnaround into a successful program.”

His last day was not specified at the time of reporting.

The resignation came during a two-day board meeting and followed a rocky tenure marked by a recent Inspector General investigation into nearly $600,000 in unallowable travel expenses to “questionable locations that appear unrelated to state business,” including trips to gyms, a nightclub, an escape room, a tiki bar and a cigar lounge over a two-year period, according to an investigation released by the inspector general that oversees the agency.

Will Choudri be charged with stealing from taxpayers? Will he be required to pay the $600,000 back?

“The report found that the agency routinely reimbursed consultants for trips that were unauthorized or poorly justified. Some consultants flew first-class and were reimbursed without questioning, in violation of contracts and state policies. One consultant flew his private plane from Washington, D.C. to California and was reimbursed for a premium fare.”

Earlier in October, the HSRA board voted to strip him of sole authority over contracts under $25 million, and require legal counsel review.

California’s high-speed rail project has no operational trains and no high-speed track laid on the actual alignment, as of August 2026.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has blown $18 billion on California High Speed Rail and the project was about to run out of money last year.

California’s High-Speed Rail boondoggle is now estimated to cost taxpayers $231 billion, up from its original $33.5 billion price tag in 2008 when voters passed Proposition 1A.

Repeated delays of a full buildout, is now targeted for around 2040 – 20 years after the projected completion date.

It is 2026, and still there are NO trains running.

Voters approved the bond in 2008 for a 2020 completion. There is still no track, and no trains. 

Proposition 1A, $9 billion in bonds for high-speed rail, included numerous mandates, none of which can be legally bypassed on the way to building the massive train system.

Top on the list is that the rail system must be high-speed. “Electric trains that are capable of sustained maximum revenue operating speeds of no less than 200 miles per hour,” the law states. However, much of the first segment between Fresno and Bakersfield is not high-speed; nor will high-speed be attainable in dense cities.

The Trump administration pulled $4 billion in federal funding from California due to missed deadlines, and ongoing legal and funding challenges, under Choudri.

In 2025, the California High Speed Rail Authority responded to President Trump launching an investigation into the high cost of the rail system, saying that “every dollar has been accounted for” and that the project is now past a point of no return to be completed.

How ironic.

Adding to his woes, Choudri had an earlier February 2026 arrest related to domestic violence allegations at his home, involving his fiancée and daughter. There were no charges were filed, and he took temporary leave.

According to Calmatters, the HSRA board has been weighing further disciplinary steps, including possible termination.

Adding insult to injury, on the same day of the resignation news, the board approved a major Siemens Mobility contract for high-speed trains.