CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A project to link Las Vegas and Southern California with a high-speed train got a boost this week when the newly formed Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority approved an exclusive relationship with XpressWest.

The panel's move to select the company as a franchisee adds a layer of government legitimacy to the endeavor that could help it attract investors. But no state dollars are attached.

Steve Hill of the Governor's Office of Economic Development says funding is still the biggest obstacle.

Las Vegas-based XpressWest has been working since at least 2005 to secure clearances it needs to build a 185-mile rail line between Sin City and Victorville, California, cutting travel time in half.

Eventually, it would extend to a planned California High-Speed Rail line stretching north to the Central Valley.