World | Thu Feb 18, 2016 7:44pm EST

California high-speed rail's first leg to connect Central and Silicon valleys

SAN FRANCISCO | BY ROBIN RESPAUT

California's ambitious plan for high-speed rail service will become reality within a decade with service between the state's agricultural Central Valley and high-tech Silicon Valley, state officials announced on Thursday.

In an updated draft plan for the rail line that will whisk passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in under three hours by 2029, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) revised downward the cost of the entire line, to $64.1 billion from nearly $68 billion.

The draft plan includes a new initiative to request $2.9 billion in additional funding from the federal government.

The first leg of the line would connect Kern County in the state's agricultural breadbasket to San Jose in Silicon Valley by 2025.

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