As the Los Angeles Times notes, it will likely be years before California’s high-speed rail project can be completed. Still, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to give his state a taste of Euro-style travel by creating a demonstration project between San Diego and L.A.—before the end of 2010.

According to 9News, the rail system would be linked to Colorado via the Western High Speed Rail Alliance, a group founded by metropolitan planning organizations from major transportation hubs in four states. It’s unclear whether the Governator’s lightning-fast lobbying will impact Colorado in the short-term, but statements made during a recent luncheon of the Denver Regional Council of Governments reveal some details.

“You could live in Denver and commute to Salt Lake in three hours,” says Tom Skancke, executive director of the Western High Speed Rail Alliance.

The system would connect Denver to five major cities: Phoenix, L.A., Salt Lake City, Reno, and Las Vegas. The downside? Waiting. The part of the plan that would bring a high-speed rail system through Denver would take at least 20 years.