Record Federal Loan Sought For California To Vegas High-Speed Train

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/30/record-federal-loan-sought-for-california-to-vegas-high-speed-train/

Private investors are betting on plans to build a rail system that could one day take you from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sin City, assuming they can line up the funding.

A group known as Xpress West is hoping to latch on to California’s planned high-speed rail line near Palmdale in Southern California, essentially allowing California passengers an additional destination.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that the companies backing the plan are hoping to obtain a $5.5 billion loan that would trigger an additional $1.4 billion in private financing. According to the report, a loan of that size would be 10-times larger than any loan given out in the federal rail funding program during its decade of existence.

A trip from the Bay Area would cost about $140 and would last about four hours. A trip from Southern California would take about an hour and a half.