IN BRIEF (Page 12)

United States

Country to have first bullet train

California's high-speed rail project reaches a milestone on Tuesday as officials mark the start of work on the first US bullet train, which is designed to whisk travelers at 320 km/h between Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours. Dan Richard, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, acknowledges the authority has been slow to buy up most of the land needed for laying track, but he is confident the system will be built, making California a model for high-speed rail across the country.