EDMONTON -- The idea of a high-speed rail connecting Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary could be one step closer to becoming a reality with a new contender showing interest in developing a line. On Thursday, construction and infrastructure development company EllisDon announced it had received a memorandum of understanding (MOU) from Alberta Transportation for its Prairie Link project. In a news release, the company said the MOU was secured after the project was proposed within the province's unsolicited proposal framework and guideline. According to EllisDon, the MOU lays the foundation for "cooperatively advancing project development." EllisDon estimates the capital cost for the high-speed rail would total $9 billion, and boasted it could be "among the largest and most defining nation-building transportation projects in Alberta's history."