British architecture firm Foster + Partners and engineering firm Arup have unveiled plans for a series of stations in California that will serve a 71-mile-long (275-kilometer) California High-Speed Rail line. “Shaping the future of sustainable travel in California and across America,” said Stefan Behling, head of Foster + Partners. “Having realized our vision plan for the entire system, we are now pleased to be working with Arup on detailed designs for the first four stations on the network”.

The stations designed by Foster + Partners and Arup will cover the stretch of line in California’s Central Valley, an area between the two metropolises of San Francisco and Los Angeles. When completed, the tracks will allow trains to travel at 220 miles per hour (350 kilometers per hour) through the corridor, enabling travelers to reach either end in just under three hours.

The four stations will be located in the California cities of Merced, Fresno, Tulare and Bakersfield and will serve as models for other stations along the line. The rail line has been planned by the California government since the late 1990s, and the plan was approved in 2008 by the state legislature. Then, in February of this year, a new timetable and budget for the project were finally released, and a number of guideways and viaducts have already been constructed.

Other projects for rail segments in the region have also been announced recently. A private company called Brightline is currently working on a line that would connect Southern California with Los Vegas, Nevada.