Ian Choudri, the chief executive of California’s high-speed rail authority, resigned late Wednesday by email during a two-day board meeting he had not attended on its first day. He cited “important personal and family priorities” and 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”.
His departure removes the head of an agency trying to build a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which are about 380 miles apart. Eighteen years after voters approved a multibillion-dollar bond project, no railroad tracks have been laid. The estimated cost has risen to between $126 billion and $231 billion, and the project is set to run out of money in 2027 without laying a single piece of track.
The resignation came more than a month after the state watchdog found the agency had misused public funds. In September, California’s office of the inspector general said the authority had paid $543,000 in consultant travel reimbursements that were not permitted, including international or out-of-state expenses. Of that sum, $81,000 covered travel to places without an official purpose, including gyms, an escape room and a nightclub.
Choudri took the authority’s top job in 2024 after arriving from infrastructure design firm HNTB Corp, bringing more than 30 years of transportation experience. His tenure was also interrupted in February, when he took a leave of absence after he allegedly intervened in a domestic dispute between his wife and daughter. Police arrested him on suspicion of domestic violence, though the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute, citing insufficient evidence. He later returned to the post after taking a voluntary leave while the authority assessed the situation.
The Trump administration withdrew $4 billion in federal funding from the project in July 2025. US transportation secretary Sean Duffy called it a “boondoggle” and a “train to nowhere”.
This month, the board removed Choudri’s authority to sign and manage contracts worth up to $25 million. His compensation had been set at more than $534,000 this year, and board officials had been due to consider whether he qualified for a potential $25,000 performance bonus. He resigned before the board made that decision.
Xavier Becerra, a California Democratic gubernatorial candidate, told KCRA News: “We’re going to have to scrub a lot. The high-speed rail authority’s going to have to look really different if we’re going to continue this project”. He also said: “I need to gain the confidence of the public. I can’t gain it if I keep the same characters in place”.
Joe Stephenshaw, director of California’s department of finance and a longtime adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, will become interim chief executive on 3 November. Newsom appointed Stephenshaw to lead the Department of Finance in 2022, and the board announced his interim rail appointment at its Thursday meeting.
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