Dive Brief:

• Construction on a high-speed rail system is scheduled to begin Tuesday in California.

• The California High-Speed Rail Authority will break ground on the $68 million project in Fresno after two years of delays caused by legal and political challenges.

• The Los Angeles Times reported that although funding is not yet in place for the entire 800-mile, 24-station route between Sacramento and Diego, work will begin this week on the system’s first 29-mile segment. The project could take up to 14 years to complete.

Dive Insight:

Called the “bullet train,” the system will connect the state’s “mega-regions,” according to the Authority. The high-speed train service—which could transport riders from San Francisco to Los Angeles in as little as three hours— is seen by some as an opportunity to open the state’s educational, artistic, and cultural offerings to a far broader audience.