Board OKs 1st Segment Of California High-Speed Rail
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California high-speed rail officials have approved a proposal to build the first segment of the state's high-speed rail line in the Central Valley.
Seven members of the California High Speed Rail Authority voted unanimously Thursday to spend $4.3 billion to lay 65 miles of track between a small town north of Fresno to Corcoran.
The vote follows a presentation by staff engineers, who explained that the route will allow the track to connect to an existing freight rail line used by Amtrak.
The authority is under a tight deadline to pick a route and enter a funding agreement with the Federal Railroad Administration by the end of the year. The government requires that the rail line can be useable whether or not the full, 800-mile system gets completed.
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