CONFERENCE AGENDA
MAY 13 - 15 | WASHINGTON, DC
Join the high speed rail industry’s premier event.
HSR 2025 will explore ways to deliver the future by scaling up high speed rail across the nation, speeding up project delivery, and putting key projects on a path to success. The 3-day conference will explore cutting-edge strategies for planning, designing, and building high-speed rail systems.
tuesday may 13, 2025
8:30 - 9:00am
Morning Refreshments & Check-In
9:00 - 9:15am
1) High Speed Rail Advancing Across America
- Secretary Ray LaHood, USHSR Co-Chair
- Rod Diridon, USHSR Co-Chair
- Andy Kunz, USHSR
- Peter Gertler, HNTB
TOPICS: Accelerating high speed rail across America; Streamlining project delivery processes; Moving the nation full speed into the 21st century; Pushing the paradigm shift in transportation thinking and funding while unlocking more private-sector investment into high speed rail; Scaling up jobs and U.S. manufacturing; Connecting to miles of affordable communities while lowering the cost of living; Stimulating Transit Oriented Development and walkable communities.
9:15 - 10:15am
2) From Vision to Fast-Tracking HSR Delivery: The Global Perspective
- Keith Sibley, Bechtel
- Andy Byford, Amtrak
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Global best practices for delivering high speed rail projects; Lessons from nations that have built new systems quickly; Planning, strategy, funding, delivery options for high speed mega-projects.
10:15 - 10:45am
Morning Networking Break
10:45 - 11:30am
3) The Business Case for High Speed Rail
- Andrea Giuricin, TRA Consulting
- Gianbattista La Rocca, NTV Italo
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: High speed rail as a profitable business; Global examples of successful operations; Competition and industry growth; Ridership, profitability, expansion, business model comparisons.
11:30 - 12:00pm
4) Manufacturing High Speed Rail in America
- Matt Delaney, Railway Supply Institute
- Eddie Russnow, MAC Products
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Scaling up American manufacturing of high speed rail system components; Standardizing systems to enable lower cost mass production; Lowering project costs while speeding up project delivery; Strengthening domestic supply chains; Launching a revival of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
12:00 - 12:30pm
5) Streamlining Projects with Permitting Reform
- Terry Hynes, Sidley LLP
- Rod Diridon, USHSR Co-Chair
- Serge Stanich, HNTB
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Speeding up project delivery by shortening timelines; Speeding up environmental reviews to deliver projects more efficiently; Processing applications more quickly.
12:30 - 1:45pm
Networking Lunch
1:45 - 2:30pm
6) Texas High Speed Rail Update
- Andy Byford, Amtrak HSR
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Update on the progress bringing HSR to Texas; New procurement in the works; The project is an all-electric, 200mph high speed rail line spanning 240 miles connecting Dallas and Houston in less than 90 minutes, with convenient departures every 30 minutes during peak periods each day.
2:30 - 3:00pm
7) Innovative Procurement Strategies
- Kat Sadeghi, HNTB
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Discussion of procurement strategies and arrangements to speed up project delivery and lower costs; Best practices and lessons from around the world and across modes.
3:00 - 3:30pm
8) Managing Megaproject Risks
- Ronnie Hakim, HNTB
- Andy Byford, Amtrak HSR
- Harshal Desai, Atlas
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: De-risking major projects, standardizing systems, simplifying processes; Proven policies and procedures, and lessons learned from around the world.
3:30 - 4:00pm
Afternoon Networking Break
4:00 - 4:30pm
9) Integrating High Speed Train Systems
- Speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Successfully bringing together the many advanced systems in high speed rail networks; Smooth delivery of complex projects with layers of suppliers and complex technologies.
4:30 - 5:30pm
10) Building Brightline West
- Keith Tarkalson, Stacy and Witbeck
- Scott Norman, Herzog
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Update on the progress bringing HSR to the Southwest U.S.; Innovative construction methods to build a mile of track each day; Multiple contractors, multiple construction sites, and years of careful planning; The project is an all-electric, 200mph high speed rail line spanning 218 miles connecting Las Vegas and Southern California in just 2 hours and 10 minutes.
5:30 - 7:30pm
Evening Networking Reception
Enjoy an evening of food, drinks, and the best HSR networking in town!
wednesday may 14
8:00 - 8:30am
Morning Refreshments & Check-In
8:30 - 9:00am
11) Building Local Support for High Speed Rail
- Mayor Keith Wilson, Portland, OR
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Building business, political, and public support at the local level for new high speed rail projects; Information sharing, community involvement, and tangible benefits made clear to locals as part of project delivery; Delivering early benefits the public can see and appreciate early; Building on successes before, during, and after project construction.
9:00 - 10:00am
12) High Speed Train Stations
- David Sacha, Perkins & Will Architects
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Getting stations right; Location and station design to enable integration into walkable downtowns; Connecting neighborhoods with direct access into the stations; Inclusion of layers of local and regional rail and transit systems, with easy transfers between them; Stations as catalyst for economic development and revitalization of entire neighborhoods; Mixed use, retail, entertainment, office, housing and other uses in and around the stations in the form of TOD (Transit Oriented Development); Station fronting central public plaza.
10:00 - 10:30am
Morning Networking Break
10:30 - 11:00am
13) Megaproject Planning Best Practices
- James VanWormer, HNTB
- Karen Hedlund, STB
- Jed Poster, Amtrak HSR
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Megaprojects as extremely unique, complex deliveries; Discussion of best practices from around the world; Lessons learned from complex HSR projects successfully delivered; Planning slowly, building quickly.
11:00 - 11:45am
14) Emerging High Speed Rail Projects
- Arthur Sohikian, High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency
- Brendon Wheeler, NCTCOG, Texas
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Update on the next round of projects taking shape across America; Next steps, procurement schedule, funding news.
11:45 - 12:15pm
15) High Speed Rail: Turbocharging American Job Growth
- Speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Creating millions of jobs building and operating the new national high speed rail network; Jobs in system design & construction, component manufacturing, maintenance and rail operations; More jobs in station operations, and constructing and operating the new mixed-use communities built around stations.
12:15 - 1:30pm
Networking Lunch
1:30 - 2:30pm
16) California High Speed Rail Update
- Ian Choudri, California High Speed Rail Authority
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Update on the construction progress of America's first and largest high speed rail project; Upcoming procurements, new funding strategies, and plans to expedite the project will be discussed. The project is an all-electric, 220mph high speed rail system spanning over 800 miles set to connect Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento, and a number of smaller cities in between.
2:30 - 3:00pm
17) Innovative Construction Methods
- Speakers to be announced
TOPICS: New methods of construction will be presented and discussed by global experts; Best practices and most innovative methods for track laying, bridge building, tunneling, and installing catenary power systems; Prefabrication speeding up project delivery while lowering construction costs.
3:00 - 3:30pm
Afternoon Networking Break
3:30 - 4:00pm
18) Developing Standards for Interoperability & Supply Chain Efficiency
- Phil Gilmour, US Rail
- Roberto Rodriguez, SENER
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Standardizing high speed rail in America; Developing common standards for interoperability of trains across regional networks; Standardizing systems and technologies to create U.S. supply chains of common parts; Building up component and system inventories to speed up project delivery, and lower costs.
4:00 - 4:45pm
19) Transit-Oriented Development & Building Communities
- Speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Maximizing rail investments with TOD planning around station; High quality urban design creating vibrant, compact, walkable, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use communities tightly surrounding rail stations; Integrating stations into the urban fabric enabling many passengers to arrive and depart the station on foot;
4:45 - 5:00pm
20) Concluding Remarks
- Secretary Ray LaHood, USHSR Co-Chair
- Rod Diridon, USHSR Co-Chair
- Other speakers to be announced
TOPICS: Conference closing, summary, and next steps; Accelerating high speed rail across America by streamlining project delivery, and moving the nation into 21st century transportation.
5:30 - 7:30pm
After-Party at Teamsters Penthouse on Capitol Hill
Special Guests
thursday may 15
9:30 - 10:30am
Special Breakfast on Capitol Hill
- Special Guests to be announced
TOPICS: Enjoy a breakfast on Capitol Hill in preparation for the Lobby Day
11:00 - 3:00pm
Lobby Day on Capitol Hill
TOPICS: Walking the halls of Congress, HSR 2025 attendees will carry our message supporting high speed rail to Congressional leaders.