Foster + Partners and Arup are collaborating on planning, architecture, and engineering for four new stations for California High Speed Rail. These will serve as models of design for stations planned along the entire 500-mile Los Angeles/Anaheim to San Francisco system. The team is utilizing its local knowledge combined with its global high-speed rail station experience. The project is under construction in the Central Valley today with the goal of having the first operable line complete between 2030-2033.
The four stations are:
Merced
Building on the historical link between Merced and Yosemite Valley, this city with a rapidly growing university and college will benefit from high-speed rail connections to the Central Valley and the future connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. The new Merced station will incorporate a pedestrian bridge crossing over freight tracks that currently divide the city. The crossing will align with the existing city grid, directly connecting downtown with the station concourse and will significantly improve pedestrian flows across Merced. A new flexible outdoor plaza, on 16th Street, will provide a local community space and activate the station.
Fresno
The Fresno station will reconnect downtown and Chinatown, via an elevated pedestrian crossing that restores the city grid along Mariposa Street. Available to use throughout the day and night, the crossing will create a public connection between these two parts of the city and will act as a catalyst for future economic growth and investment in Chinatown. Landscaped plazas on either side of the crossing will provide new community spaces for early activation. The high-speed rail station site will also incorporate the restoration of the historic depot.
Kings Tulare
A short distance away from the city of Hanford, the Kings Tulare station is designed to create a streamlined experience for those arriving by bus, car, or bicycle. The elevated platforms and protective canopy will be added to the Hanford viaduct currently under construction. All of the station’s services and amenities will be located directly below, creating an easy and intuitive passenger journey. The adjacent public plaza will serve as a local community asset.
Bakersfield
The Bakersfield station will be the southern terminus of California High-Speed Rail’s Central Valley initial segment, with future connections already planned to Los Angeles and Anaheim to the south. The design creates a linear park that runs underneath a new viaduct, directly connecting downtown Bakersfield and the Kern River Corridor with a variety of shaded outdoor public spaces and recreation facilities. Looking ahead, there are plans for a transit-oriented development adjacent to the viaduct from the river corridor all the way to Chester Avenue.
Consultants
The Foster + Partners and Arup JV has also engaged a team of diverse local experts and subcontractors the includes several small business enterprises (SBE) throughout the design development of the four stations. These include: Aquatic Studio, Arroyo Irrigation, Auriga Corporation, Azad Engineering, Bio Studio LLC, Blackburn Consulting, Cornerstone Structural Engineering Group, Inc, Cross Spectrum Acoustics, CS Caulkins, Debra G Jones, DRB Associates, Environmental Review Partners, Inc, FMG + Company, GVK Elevator Consulting Services, Inc, HMH Engineers, ICF, Janet Kim Group LLC, JMA Civil, Inc, Josephine’s Professional Staffing, Inc, Leland Saylor Associates, Nabih Youssef & Associates, O’Dell Engineering Inc, Oculus (MB), PAX Environmental, PBS Engineers, Inc, Quality Engineers, Inc, Quezada Incorporated, Robin Chiang & Company, Rowecon Group, Soar Environmental Consulting, Inc, Studio-MLA, VIATechnik, VRPA Technologies, Inc and Wilson Ihrig.
