California not so high speed rail line to be built by German firm. Another sign of America's inability to compete in engineering.

Germany's Hochtief lands US railway deal

German building company Hochtief has announced it's secured a lucrative large-scale construction deal in the US. It will help build a stretch of an important high-speed rail connection between LA and San Francisco.

German construction giant Hochtief reported Friday it had won a $1.23-billion (1.08-billion-euro) contract to help build the first high-speed rail system in the United States as part of a joint venture team.

The joint undertaking of Dragados USA and Hochtief's US subsidiary Flatiron would build a 60-mile (97-kilometer) portion of a new high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Germans announced.

It added that construction would begin in late 2016 and would take about four years.

Happy investors

Hochtief indicated building work would involve the construction of a number of bridges along the line.

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Chief Executive Marcelino Fernandez Verdes welcomed the deal Friday, saying "it's an example of considerable investment in new and improved infrastructure in the United States and a big step forward for the Hochtief Group."

The news about the secured deal went down well with investors in Frankfurt, with the company's shares gaining 2.5 percent in early trading.