California High Speed Rail Authority officials unveiled a tentative map of routes for the proposed statewide bullet train on Wednesday – a plan that includes a 120-mile, nonstop stretch between Bakersfield and Fresno.

That Central Valley section of the line, which was recommended by the authority's staff, bypasses Visalia despite the city's pleas for a stop. The 700-mile system, with 200 mph-plus trains, would cost about $35 billion and carry as many as 68 million passengers a year by 2020. Voters will decide a bond measure in 2006 to pay for part of the project. Construction on major parts of the electric train system could start in 2008.

San Diego Union Tribune