SHA Analytics, LLC is part of the professional financial and business advisory team to support the High Desert Corridor (HDC) Project as it advances under the newly formed HDC Joint Power’s Authority (JPA). Our work has supported the HDC JPA’s pursuit of state and federal grant funding, including Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) Cycle 8 and Federal-State Partnership (FSP) grants. 
 

The HDC Project is a planned high-speed intercity passenger rail service that will create a critical link between existing rail service in downtown Los Angeles and Brightline West's future service to Las Vegas. Extending 54 miles along an east-west alignment, HDC will connect the existing Palmdale Station with Brightline West's future Victor Valley Station. Combined with the planned California High-Speed Rail system, HDC will enable a seamless one-seat ride from Los Angeles Union Station to Las Vegas, improving regional mobility and strengthening the intercity rail network across Southern California and Nevada.

For the TIRCP Cycle 8 application in early 2026, SHA Analytics, LLC led development and validation of key inputs for CalSTA's TIRCP Benefits Calculator, compiling ridership forecasts, mode-shift estimates, trip characteristics, and capital cost data. TIRCP requires applicants to substantiate anticipated greenhouse gas emissions reductions through rigorous, technically defensible analysis; using the Benefits Calculator and supporting guidance, SHA Analytics, LLC quantified projected net GHG emissions reductions over a 20-year horizon and prepared a technical appendix documenting methodologies, assumptions, and results in a format aligned with CalSTA requirements. To strengthen the application, SHA Analytics, LLC benchmarked HDC's projected emissions reductions, funding request, and cost-effectiveness against comparable projects previously awarded TIRCP funding, supporting a well-substantiated and appropriately sized funding request.
 

For the FSP application, in late 2025 SHA Analytics, LLC prepared a qualitative benefit-cost analysis consistent with the Federal Railroad Administration’s FSP National Notice of Funding Opportunity and U.S. DOT 2025 BCA Guidance, articulating HDC's anticipated long-term public benefits, including safety improvements, reduced travel times, mode shift from automobile travel to rail, and enhanced regional economic connectivity.