California High-Speed Rail Audit Finds Nearly $600K in Improper Consultant Travel Expenses

California’s troubled high-speed rail project improperly reimbursed outside consultants for nearly $600,000 in travel expenses, including trips involving gyms, bars, a nightclub, an escape room and a cigar lounge, according to a new investigation by the project’s independent inspector general.

Investigators reviewed approximately $1.15 million of the more than $2 million in travel costs billed by four consulting firms between 2024 and 2026. The review found that nearly $600,000 of the examined expenses violated state travel policies or the terms of the consultants’ contracts.

The investigation also found that at least $685,000 in travel was reimbursed without receiving the required advance approval. In some cases, high-speed rail officials reportedly did not even know consultants had traveled until invoices arrived requesting reimbursement.

Among the expenses questioned by investigators were premium Uber and Lyft rides to restaurants, bars and a nightclub late at night. Consultants were also reimbursed for repeated rides to Planet Fitness locations despite a supervisor explicitly noting that the state does not cover transportation to gyms.

Other examples included a nearly $40 Uber Black ride covering less than a mile in downtown Sacramento and approximately $118,000 in international travel despite contract provisions prohibiting international travel. Some consultants also received reimbursement for first-class flights or other premium transportation.

One legal consultant received $40,800 in travel reimbursements along with another $86,500 for travel time after making 30 trips between Denver and Sacramento in a single year. Another consultant traveled from Denver to California approximately 20 times to meet with executives without detailed explanations of why the meetings needed to take place in person.

The inspector general concluded that the High-Speed Rail Authority lacked adequate controls for determining whether consultant travel was necessary, properly approved and cost-effective. The report warned that paying unnecessary or excessive travel costs represents a waste of public money and conflicts with the agency’s responsibility to protect taxpayer resources.

The findings add another controversy to a project that has experienced major cost increases and repeated delays since California voters approved it in 2008. The original proposal envisioned a San Francisco-to-Los Angeles high-speed system costing about $33 billion, while current estimates for completing the system have risen dramatically.

Investigators recommended strengthening advance-approval requirements, limiting reimbursements to state travel rates and reviewing the four contractors’ previous expenses to determine whether improperly paid money should be recovered. The High-Speed Rail Authority agreed with some recommendations and partially agreed with others, with changes expected to be implemented in the coming months.

The audit places additional scrutiny on how taxpayer money is being managed as California continues trying to complete the long-delayed rail system. The inspector general plans another evaluation after March 2027 to determine whether the authority has adequately addressed the weaknesses identified in the investigation.