CA: High-Speed Rail Conference to Draw Top Government Officials and Business Leaders

The U.S. High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) announced the High Speed Rail Conference will take place Nov. 5-7, at the Metro headquarters at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

This three-day conference will bring together some of the nation's top government officials and many of the world’s leading experts to discuss the roll out of high speed rail across America.

Conference attendees will hear from the Obama administration, members of Congress, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, California High-Speed Rail Authority, international high speed rail experts, private rail operators, financial and investment professionals, engineers, construction leaders, real estate development professionals and national transportation advisors.

Confirmed speakers for the event include: California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Jeff Morales, California Department of Transportation Director Malcolm Dougherty, LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Arthur Leahy, Tutor Perini CEO Ronald Tutor, Mineta Transportation Institute Executive Director Rod Diridon, Congressman James Oberstar, California Assembly Member Fiona Ma, California High Speed Rail Authority Board Member Katherine Perez-Estolano, David Carol - Parsons Brinckerhoff, Armin Kick - Siemens, Vinay Mudholkar - Louis Berger, Joe Reed - Balfour Beatty, John Barna - AECOM, Francisco Fernandez-Lafuente – Sener, Dr. Anthony Perl, Kristopher Takacs - SOM Architects, and more.

Conference highlights include "Bringing High Speed Rail to America," the opening session with leading advocates for high speed rail in America. Hear about the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of a major new infrastructure project for America. California High Speed Rail will explore the status of the visionary state project, and its current construction build-out schedule. "HSR in America Update" will explore the status of the many high speed rail projects in the works around the country. "High Speed Rail Investment and Real Estate Development" will explore the mixed-use real estate opportunities at rail stations. "Transit Oriented Development and Station Architecture" will explore design strategies of great rail stations while integrating them into cities and creating exciting new mixed-use places. "Private Investment and Financing High Speed Rail" panel will explore strategies to creatively finance and build high speed rail projects around America, including a $100 billion investment fund for high speed rail.

"This summit brings together an amazing line-up of top business leaders and government officials who are working to bring high speed rail to America” said Andy Kunz, USHSR president and CEO. “We are excited to be working with the visionaries and leaders pushing for major improvements to the nation’s transportation networks."