The U.S. and China have reached an agreement to construct a high-speed rail connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas in a recent contract signed between China Railway Group and XpressWest Enterprises.
Dubbed as the Southwest Rail Network, the project will span 370 kilometers and be built starting September 2016, according to Bloomberg. The deal was reportedly four years in the making and will have a $100 million in initial funding courtesy of the Chinese consortium. It was concluded ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the U.S. next week.
The final cost is expected to balloon by as much as $6.9 billion, The Verge reported.
Plans for a high-speed railway, or a bullet train, that will service Los Angeles and Las Vegas has been proposed for years. XpressWest itself has outlined a proposal for the same project as early as 2007. The Southwest Rail Network will follow the I-15 corridor, with stations to be constructed in Victorville and Palmdale, Calif. Travellers should expect to be shuttled from Los Angeles to Las Vegas at a speed of 150 miles per hour, which should place the actual travel time at about 80 minutes.
China is particularly proud of the high-speed rail project, The Los Angeles Times reported. "As China's first high-speed railway project in the United States, the project will be a landmark in overseas investment for the Chinese railway sector and serve as a model of international cooperation," said Yang Zhongmin, chairman of China Railway International.
