California's troubled high-speed rail project faces fresh controversy after the state's independent Inspector General found that nearly $600,000 in taxpayer funds was improperly spent on consultant travel. The report, released this week, accuses the California High-Speed Rail Authority of breaching state rules and contractual terms when reimbursing four consulting firms, adding to long-running frustration over delays and cost overruns on the scheme, originally billed as a bullet train linking Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Inspectors examined more than $2 million in travel reimbursements paid to KPMG, Nossaman LLP, AECOM-Fluor Joint Venture and SYSTRA/TYPSA Joint Venture between June 2024 and April 2026, finding $81,000 breached state travel rules, $543,400 fell outside contract terms, and a further $680,500 lacked required advance approval. Expenses cited included premium rideshares to a tiki bar, cigar lounge, nightclub, escape room and restaurants, alongside undocumented first-class flights and $118,000 in international travel costs billed to SYSTRA/TYPSA despite a contractual ban. The report also found contract managers routinely failed to scrutinise costs, and noted one consultant said colleagues were "learning the hard way" not to question requests from authority chief executive Ian Choudri, who the watchdog said had no authority to override contract rules.