California High Speed Rail Authority

O’Melveny represented the CHSRA in the negotiation of the system-wide master agreements between CHSRA and the Union Pacific Railroad that will enable development and operation of the California High Speed Rail Project over and adjacent to Union Pacific’s rights-of-way at numerous locations in California. The high-speed rail agreements were necessary for the US$68 billion project to move forward. The O’Melveny team helped develop innovative solutions for a number of unique issues that the parties had been unable to resolve. The set of agreements, the first of their kind in the United States, will serve as precedents for future negotiations between high-speed rail operators and freight railroads throughout the US.