County OKs rail agreement, stays open to other plans
By Kyle Hansen
Las Vegas Sun
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 | 4:23 p.m.

Clark County commissioners unanimously approved an agreement Tuesday that will allow county staff to work with DesertXpress on part of the high-speed rail line.

The DesertXpress plan calls for a traditional steel-wheel train to be built in the Interstate 15 right-of-way between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif.

But the freeway right-of-way isn’t large enough to accommodate the train between Russell Road and Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas, so the company needs permission to build the line in county right-of-way along Dean Martin Drive, just west of I-15.

The agreement does not give permission for the train to be built, but will help the train company as it seeks a license from the Federal Railroad Administration and allows county staff to help determine the use of county property.

Commissioners stressed that this is not an endorsement of the DesertXpress plan over competing high-speed rail proposals.

“I’ve said publicly and privately that we value high-speed train projects, that they would be a great addition to our economy and our community, but that we want a competitive environment where the project that can receive the entitlements and the financing can go forward and be constructed,” Commission Chairman Rory Reid said.

“Just as we’d cooperate with these developers, we’d cooperate with any other,” he said.

DesertXpress has been gaining momentum over competitors, especially since gaining the support of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who last week sent out a news release praising the re-allocation of funds once promised to supporters of a maglev train.

Train plans submitted to the county by DesertXpress show railroad tracks elevated over traffic lanes of Dean Martin Drive, with supports on either side of the road or down the median.

Commissioners Chris Giunchigliani and Steve Sisolak asked for clarification from county staff to make certain they were not doing anything that would block a competing train.
..

I could have swore there was a thread discussing this...

Victorville? Crowd at hearing perplexed by train’s proposed route
By Richard N. Velotta (contact)
Las Vegas Sun
Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010 | 11:20 p.m.

For most of the more than 60 people attending, Wednesday night’s public hearing on the supplemental environmental impact statement for the proposed DesertXpress high-speed rail system was an exercise in frustration.

People looking for answers left with more questions.

Most of them still can’t understand why it would be feasible to build the $4 billion, 200-mile high-speed link between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif.

But as representatives of the Federal Railroad Administration explained from the beginning, Wednesday’s meeting wasn’t about answering questions — it was about gathering comments on a series of proposed changes along the length of the route.

FRA administrators spent about an hour taking comments on the project, which got a boost earlier in the day from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who announced that DesertXpress Enterprises has been invited to apply for Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan guarantees.

Government officials recorded a variety of comments and will do it again Thursday in Barstow, Calif., where the municipal government is pressing for DesertXpress to make a stop there. One of the revised route proposals would bring the train through the center of town instead of circling around it to the west and north.

Several Las Vegas comments suggested that DesertXpress, designed as a high-speed system with no additional stops between Victorville and Las Vegas, should make stops before pulling into Las Vegas.

Elizabeth Warren of Goodsprings suggested that a station be built to serve residents of Goodsprings and Sandy Valley, who could then use the train as a commuter line into Las Vegas. Mark Allen added that Jean, Primm and the area around the site of the planned Ivanpah Valley airport would be good places to stop.

Some speakers were concerned about the DesertXpress being built at grade level and inevitable collisions with animals. Others said they were concerned about the noise. Some business people who own billboards are worried that the train and its tracks would block the view of their signs.

Comments also were raised about potential danger to construction workers if the final statement directs the railroad to tunnel in the Clark Mountains to avoid crossing into Mojave National Preserve land.

Charles Hall of the Clark County Department of Aviation said McCarran International Airport has a few concerns about the height of elevated track and electrical catenary beneath airport flight paths.

About a half dozen people wore T-shirts showing their support for DesertXpress rival the American Magline Group and its magnetic levitation technology. Charles Brown, who lobbied for a train stop in Jean, Primm and the airport site, wore a shirt that said, “If it doesn’t take you where you want to go, just say no.”

But most just viewed the Victorville stopping point as a head-scratcher.

“I’m bamboozled at how anyone would want to go to Victorville,” said Mike Price. “I would pay twice as much for a ticket if it went all the way to Los Angeles. It’s going to be like having your car break down in the middle of the desert.”

Alinka Ziska, a teacher whose students prepared letters for the FRA, said her pupils want to have the ability to get on a train and go to Disneyland.

DesertXpress leaders didn’t make any comments at the hearing, but the company has said repeatedly that it would work immediately on developing a train line between Victorville and Palmdale, Calif., 50 miles west, to tie directly to the California high-speed rail network.

Mark Fierro, who has worked as a publicist for the maglev project, told FRA administrators that DesertXpress hasn’t won any support since the first environmental impact statement hearing in March 2009. Instead, he said, the hearings are filled with “nervous laughter” from people who don’t think the DesertXpress has a chance of succeeding.

The public has until Oct. 18 to submit comments on the supplemental statement. The FRA has indicated that it plans to have a record of decision and a final environmental impact statement completed by the end of the year, which would enable DesertXpress to break ground by early 2011.


Read More: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/oct/13/crowd-hearing-perplexed-trains-proposed-route/

Yep! 90% commitment from the government on this. It is done.

Strikes me as more of a last ditch effort to save Reid's job. We'll have better insight on this after the election.

I wonder if DesertXpress could get an FRA wavier to operate across the Cajon Pass and on Metrolink tracks to LA Union Station. It would most certainly help the ridership and you could have a high-speed link up to Cajon Pass, but then slow down. It would compliment the San Bernandino Line for a reason to double-track the line.

Panelist: Region ignored too long on transportation issues
By Richard N. Velotta (contact)
Las Vegas Sun
Friday, Oct. 15, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

Scott Smith, the mayor of Mesa, Ariz., recalled the day when he and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper first saw the U.S. Department of Transportation’s map showing preferred high-speed rail corridors in the United States.

The Northeast corridor was outlined and the planned California high-speed rail system was noted. There were lines in and out of Chicago, Florida, Texas and Georgia. But there was a big gap in the Rocky Mountains and the desert Southwest, where no corridors were shown.

“We looked at the map and we were stunned,” Smith said. “Pardon me for saying this, but we were pissed off. Not only did they forget about us, they completely disrespected us.”

And that’s why Smith, who recently was elected by fellow mayors from across the country to serve on the advisory board of the United States Conference of Mayors, decided that the Maricopa Association of Governments needed to be a part of the Western High-Speed Rail Alliance.

The alliance on Thursday wrapped up the second day of a three-day rail conference that has brought nearly 200 transportation experts to the Vdara. Utah Sen. Bob Bennett is scheduled to wrap up the event with a closing keynote address at lunch on Friday.

Other western transportation organizations felt the same way, leading the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the Utah Transit Authority, the Regional Transportation Authority of Washoe County and the Regional Transportation Authority of Clark County to work together to get the West noticed by the Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration.

Smith said rail corridors aren’t the only transportation elements that have been ignored by the federal government.

He cited interstate highway transportation and the fact that Phoenix and Las Vegas are the largest major cities in the country not linked by an interstate highway, a matter local transportation experts are hoping to change with a proposal for Interstate 11 from Phoenix north through Las Vegas to Reno and beyond.

“Our region has been ignored for far too long,” Smith said. “We have to go kicking and screaming and kicking down the door.”

Part of the process, he said, involves educating citizens about the disparity and explaining that high-speed rail is not a people mover but an “economic driver that happens to move people.”

“We have to be loud; we have to be there; we have to be obnoxious, but we have to be noticed,” Smith said.

Smith was joined by representatives from Utah, Colorado and Nevada on a panel about the vision of the Western High-Speed Rail Alliance and what it can do to get funding for western projects.

Jennifer Schaufele, executive director of the Denver Regional Council of Governments, said the alliance needs to emphasize that most of the growth in the last decade and what is forecast in the years ahead includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah, with growth occurring three times faster than the rest of the United States.

But the geography of the area also makes for funding challenges, because high-speed rail needs straight or gently curving routes, which are hard to come by in the Rocky Mountains unless expensive tunneling is used.

John Inglish, general manager of the Utah Transit Authority, said voters twice approved sales tax increases in his state to pay for light rail and commuter lines in Salt Lake City, and the federal government should look at that local commitment when distributing funds for high-speed rail.

When the Utah projects are completed, 90 percent of the population along the Wasatch Front will be within a mile of major transit stop, Inglish said.

Michael Moreno of the Washoe County RTC said high-speed rail is critical to reinvigorating tourism in Nevada and with the state’s sustainability efforts.

He also noted that Northern Nevada, Salt Lake City and Denver are considering bids for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and any of those sites would be well-served by high-speed rail.

But panelists said one of the most compelling reasons why federal authorities should pay more attention to alliance states is that Las Vegas will be on the north end of what may be the first true high-speed rail project in the country with the DesertXpress.

Tom Stone, president of DesertXpress Enterprises, debuted his company’s newest video explaining the project and how it would set the stage for high-speed rail in the United States.

“Once we get this system up and operating, people in this country are going to clamor for high-speed rail around the country,” Stone said. “They don’t know what it’s about, but they will, and it will be a great boon to everything that you are trying to do.”

Stone also recommended that system developers do as much as possible to get their environmental permitting completed quickly.

“Focus your efforts upon route planning and identification of your additional segments and then get the EIS (environmental impact statement) process done for that segment,” Stone said. “That way, you will move to the top of the list for federal funding.”


Read More: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/oct/15/panelist-region-must/

90% of my family lives in Vegas (North Las Vegas to be exact!!!) I am delighted to hear about this project for the very first time... No more West Hollywood weekends, I'd rather visit my cousins every there every weekend!!! How likely it is for this project to become something rea???

DesertXpress high-speed rail project rolls forward
Officials say report is a step forward in Obama’s transportation plans
By Richard N. Velotta (contact)
Las Vegas Sun
Friday, March 25, 2011 | 4:22 p.m.

DesertXpress, a proposed $6 billion high-speed rail line that would link Las Vegas with Victorville, Calif., cleared another major hurdle Friday with the Federal Railroad Administration’s release of its final environmental report on the route.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the completion of the environmental impact statement, a document that was reviewed by five federal agencies, during a press conference at UNLV’s Science and Engineering Building.

The announcement also included presentations by Sen. Harry Reid, Nevada Department of Transportation Director Susan Martinovich and UNLV President Neal Smatresk.

DesertXpress officials had expected the environmental report to be completed by the end of 2010 so the fact that was completed was no big surprise. But transportation experts say the announcement is significant because it is one of the first reports involving high-speed rail transportation, an important piece of President Obama’s transportation initiative.

An environmental report was completed for a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando, but that project is in jeopardy because Florida Gov. Rick Scott in February rejected federal money for the line.

Reid, LaHood and Martinovich didn’t answer specific questions about the report because they hadn’t seen the document, which was posted by the FRA earlier today.

One of the key aspects of the report is the location of the Las Vegas train station. Experts familiar with the project say the preferred site for the station is at Russell Road and Interstate 15.

The draft environmental report also considered two sites at Flamingo Road and I-15 and one in downtown Las Vegas, but the Russell Road site is preferred because of the additional cost of continuing the line farther north.

Additional right-of-way would have to be acquired to run the track to Flamingo Road or downtown and tracks would have to be elevated.

The rest of the report outlines preferred routes of the dual tracks that would run 185 miles, primarily along the I-15 corridor between Las Vegas and Victorville. The report analyzed several alternative corridors on portions of the route with the objective of avoiding desert tortoise habitats and other environmentally sensitive areas.

While DesertXpress officials attended the event, they didn’t participate in the conference with LaHood, Reid, Martinovich and Smatresk.

After the conference, Andrew Mack, chief operating officer of DesertXpress Enterprises, explained how important completion of the report is.

“It’s really significant for DesertXpress because it means that the six years of hard work by the federal and state agencies has reached a conclusion and it sets the path forward for final permitting so we can start the project,” Mack said.

Mack said he’s still uncertain when the company will be able to break ground for the project, but Reid said during the press conference that he was hopeful that it would occur before the end of the year.

DesertXpress has applied for a $4.9 billion loan through the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing program, which provides direct federal loans and loan guarantees to finance development of railroad infrastructure.

Under terms of the program, funding may be used to develop or establish new intermodal or railroad facilities and direct loans can fund up to 100 percent of a railroad project with repayment periods of up to 35 years and interest rates equal to the cost of borrowing to the government.

If approved, the loan would be more than four times the amount the program has loaned to 28 railroad projects that have received loans through RRIF program since 2002.

Since 2002, the program has lent $1.02 billion with the largest loan, $233 million, going to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad in 2003.

The FRA has hired an independent analyst to determine if ridership estimates, $50 one-way fares and other ancillary revenue will be enough to pay back the loan and prevent taxpayers from footing the bill.

The DesertXpress high-speed rail project would travel 185 miles through federal lands, a national preserve and two states.

LaHood and Reid had no update on the status of the loan request.

Mack said his company may not borrow the total amount in the request and has been awaiting the final environmental report to determine which route alternatives would be approved to determine a final cost of the project.

Transportation consultant Tom Skancke, who advises local government officials and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority about transportation matters, said today’s announcement “is a big victory in the transportation world.”

“It’s a big victory for the Obama administration’s vision of high-speed rail in the United States and a big victory for Sen. Reid in helping Nevada get the nation’s first high-speed rail transportation system,” Skancke said.

“This is also a great model as a classic public-private partnership,” he said. “Public-private partnerships often are criticized because companies seek up-front money for their projects. In this case, DesertXpress has invested a lot of their own money to get the environmental reports completed and are now going to the government with this loan request to build the project.”

Reid also said the project is important because of the jobs it would provide. He said DesertXpress would bring 35,000 jobs to Clark County alone with construction, operation as well as suppliers and vendors for the project. Several thousand more jobs are expected to be created in Southern California once the project begins.



Read More: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/mar/25/desertxpress-high-speed-rail-project-rolls-forward/

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood! Could it be any more obvious? It's like ... right there! La Hood in French means "The Hood!" And we all know what those are.

http://i.bnet.com/blogs/ca-vegas-hsr-map-desertxpress-corridor.jpeg

It looks good from a point in outer space, but look at what you would have to do if you want to come up here: You have to schlep to a California HSR station with your luggage, you have to ride on up to a Palmdale station that probably won't be funded, you have to switch over to that station, then you have to depart at a Warmsprings station in Las Vegas and take a cab to your hotel. If you're a heavy gambler, you might just go for this, sleeping from Palmdale to Warmsprings- (A street that runs East/West a few miles South of The Strip). . If you were here and wanted to go there, you'd do everything in reverse, but you'd really have to rent a car. . Then again, if the Mag Lev went into Anaheim, you'd use Disney perhaps as your base, then take Cal HSR into town. . It's the funniest thing, how you would use magnetic propulson for theme park rides and even suggest the mode as a way to transport cargo into the Inland Empire, but we can't seem to use it for general transportation!

Why should there still be a necessity to switch trains, once all those tracks are being built? Just the two phase thing doesn't make much sense. DesertXpress should be built in one phase anything else is devoid of logic.

http://www.desertdispatch.com/articles/desertxpress-10476-train-high.html

FML

Developers cleared to start DesertXpress engineering
By Richard N. Velotta (contact)
Las Vegas Sun
Tuesday
12 July 2011
7:43 p.m.

The U.S. Transportation Department has issued a record of decision on the controversial $5 billion DesertXpress high-speed rail project that would link Las Vegas with Victorville, Calif.

A record of decision is the final step in the arduous process of preparing an environmental impact statement. Approval of the document clears the private developers of the project, DesertXpress Enterprises LLC, to begin preliminary engineering for the 186-mile rail line.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office issued a news release Tuesday announcing the record of decision.

This “announcement is about one thing: creating good-paying jobs right here in Nevada,” the Nevada Democrat said in the release. “This major step forward for the privately sponsored DesertXpress project will create more than 32,000 jobs in Southern Nevada and boost our economy by providing another way for tourists to visit and enjoy this great state.”

The announcement comes days before an anticipated House vote in which Republicans have vowed to divert $1.5 billion earmarked for high-speed rail projects to Midwest flood relief.

Such a move could deliver a financial blow to the California High Speed Rail Authority, which is counting on federal funding to help develop a rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco and Sacramento.

DesertXpress officials are counting on extending their line from Victorville to the California system with a 50-mile link west to Palmdale. Currently, that’s the only plan in place for passengers to travel between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Critics have ripped Victorville as a terminus of the DesertXpress route, saying Southern Californians wouldn’t park their cars there to ride the train and Las Vegans wanting to go to Southern California would have to rent cars to continue their journey.

The Federal Railroad Administration has overseen the environmental review process, which began in 2006. The process was complicated because the route crossed land administered by the Federal Highway Administration, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and Surface Transportation Board, and each agency had to sign off on the plan.

The twin-track route would run primarily within the Interstate 15 right-of-way, with trains reaching speeds of about 150 mph. Company officials have estimated ticket prices to average $50 each way. An estimated 26 percent of Las Vegas visitors come from Southern California.

A UNLV report says the DesertXpress project would produce an estimated 17,469 primary jobs and 16,432 secondary jobs in Clark County by 2013.



Read More: http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/jul/12/developers-cleared-start-desertxpress-engineering/

horrific!

Private funding? Anyone? Don't be shy! Anyone....?

Another "railroad to nowhere" funded by you know who. The scary part is that if the GOP hadn't taken the House, this might actually have gotten funded.

The GOP? The party that denies global warming, hates gays and lesbians and has had many of its candidates who are running for office sign a pledge that states that African Americans had it better under slavery. This is the party that you're rooting for? (Ended sentence with a preposition, sorry. How bagger of me.)

Private funding? Anyone? Don't be shy! Anyone....?

Another "railroad to nowhere" funded by you know who. The scary part is that if the GOP hadn't taken the House, this might actually have gotten funded.

Absolute nonsense. What "railroads to nowhere" exist in this country? There are plenty of useless roads on the other hand.

There were never any plans to provide this line with direct subsidies. A small loan that is to be repaid hardly qualifies as government largesse. And in case you didn't notice, the line is meant to tie in directly with CAHSR at Palmdale, that is unless the GOP doesn't sabotage funding for that project to preserve tax cuts for millionaires.

Absolute nonsense. What "railroads to nowhere" exist in this country? There are plenty of useless roads on the other hand.

Try looking at an Amtrak map. All lines, no matter how poor, federally backed...just sayin

Try looking at an Amtrak map. All lines, no matter how poor, federally backed...just sayin

To the tune of slightly over a billion dollars a year. The military loses that much money each week.

To the tune of slightly over a billion dollars a year. The military loses that much money each week.

And?

I'm talking about trains. But the defense budget is way too bloated, right with you there.

VV to Vegas high-speed train is full steam ahead
Karen Jonas
DESERT DISPATCH
2011-07-13 15:27:54

Updated 7/13 with information from DesertXpress spokeswoman.

A proposed high-speed train that would connect Victorville to Las Vegas — without stopping in Barstow — received final approval on its environmental impact statement from the Federal Railroad Administration Tuesday.

The record of decision from the Federal Railroad Administration brings the project one step closer to beginning construction.

The report shows that the train will start in Victorville and will run along the west side of the Interstate 15 corridor to Lenwood, at which point it would run either on the side or in the median of Interstate 15 through Barstow. The train will then continue about one mile north of Interstate 15 to Yermo and will run on the west side of Interstate 15 most of the way to Mountain Pass. Because of the steep terrain at Mountain Pass, the train will then detour for 1.55 miles through the Mojave National Preserve before continuing along the Interstate 15 corridor through Primm to Las Vegas.

The City of Barstow previously opposed the DesertXpress project because an economic study commissioned by the city estimated it will decrease traffic traveling through the city to Las Vegas by up to 33 percent and the project could result in a combined loss of 2,295 jobs within the city. The city has spent more than $100,000 fighting the train so far by hiring a public relations firm and a law firm.

Some city officials contacted Wednesday seemed to have changed their tune about the train’s effect on Barstow and appeared willing to work with the train’s developer.

City Manager Curt Mitchell, Mayor Joe Gomez, Councilman Willie Hailey and Councilman Tim Saenz all said that the city would attempt to work with DesertXpress to bring jobs to Barstow residents by offering vocational training through Barstow Community College. The training will help Barstow residents get some of the 750 permanent jobs working at DesertXpress in Victorville.

Saenz said there had been talks with DesertXpress to have preferred hiring for residents who go through the program.

Hailey also said the vocational training would be a benefit to residents.

“I think the City of Barstow needs to get on board with DesertXpress,” said Hailey. “We need to take that negative and turn it to a positive.”

Mitchell said the focus for the city now that the project has been approved is minimizing any impact on residents.

“At this point, we’ll see what we can do to minimize those impacts and hopefully create some positive opportunities,” said Mitchell.

Councilman Tim Silva said that he was still concerned about the project after sitting down with the company.

“I’m concerned for the residents in this area,” said Silva. “I just don’t support how it’s going to impact the economy of Barstow.”

The DesertXpress project still needs to get approval for a $4.9 billion federal loan for the project before beginning construction — which it estimates could create up to 50,000 jobs in San Bernardino County. Officials had previously stated that the project could begin construction as early as one year from the time of the approval of the final environmental impact statement.

DesertXpress spokeswoman Lee Haney said in a statement that the record of decision will allow the Federal Railroad Administration to move forward with the loan application for the project.



Read More: http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/speed-11200-train-vegas.html

Try looking at an Amtrak map. All lines, no matter how poor, federally backed...just sayin

Wait? Is Amtrak a government agency or a private one? If I'm correct then of course it would be federally backed it being a federal agency.

Try looking at an Amtrak map. All lines, no matter how poor, federally backed...just sayin
As far as I know AMTRAK sub-rents lines from other private companies...but in any case, the Acela Express is the champion of profits...A recent Washington Post story shows that the Northeast Corridor, between Boston and Washington, is making its owner money. In fact, it goes on to say, the Acela Express service enjoys a profit margin of 40 percent.
Also, the rest of the Norteast corridor breaks even in terms of profit margins.
It shows Acela Express revenues of $450 million and after all direct and indirect expenses, a profit of $105 million, for a profit margin of 23 percent.

The results are better if you call up the March 2011 “Monthly Performance Report,” covering the first seven months of fiscal 2011. The Acela Express enjoys a profit margin of 31 percent, the rest of the NEC breaks even , and the corridor as a whole is $71 million to the good.

DesertXpress hopes for federal loan, aims for 2012 start on work
By Cy Ryan (contact)
Las Vegas Sun
Monday, Oct. 10, 2011 | 1:55 p.m.

CARSON CITY – Officials with the proposed high-speed train linking Las Vegas and Southern California expect to get an answer in six to nine months on plans to borrow about $6 billion from the federal government.

If all goes according to plan, construction would start in the final quarter of 2012, said Andrew Mack, chief operating officer of DesertXpress. Mack briefed the state transportation board Monday on the private-public project that he says has been in development for 10 years.

Gov. Brian Sandoval said the high-speed rail plans have been rejected in two other states and questioned whether it would survive in Nevada.

Mack said the other states were planning to use federal stimulus money, and if the project failed, the states would have assumed responsibility. In this case, the federal government would be loaning the money, so if the project went bankrupt, the government would take over the train. The state wouldn't have responsibility.

He told the board that $34 billion in federal funds were available to finance rail projects across the country.

The proposed train from Victorville, Calif., to Las Vegas would run at 150 mph and cover 185 miles in 80 minutes. During peak periods, there would be trains leaving each location every 20 minutes.

In Las Vegas there are two potential depots – one south of Flamingo Road and the other on 60 acres across from Mandalay Bay. Mack said the route would run along Interstate 15.

Board members questioned why Victorville was selected instead of running the all-electric train into Los Angeles. Mack said there would be added expense and environmental issues by extending it to the city.

He added that 11 million motorists visiting Las Vegas use Interstate 15 in the area that runs through Victorville.

He said 45,000 questionnaires were distributed at the California agriculture border station and there was a 5 percent response rate, with an estimated 85-90 percent saying they would try the train.

He projects 7 million passengers would use the train during the first year and construction would generate about 80,000 jobs. Of that, 17,500 would be direct work in Las Vegas.

DesertXpress would be a fully electric train with overhead lines powering it. Mack said the utilities have enough capacity to supply the electricity. It wouldn't carry freight.

The project could be completed in the final quarter of 2016, Mack said.



Read More: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/oct/10/desertxpress-hopes-federal-loan-aims-2012-start-wo/

I'm not supporting a Harry Reid project that runs to a city I usually stop at just to go to the bathroom.

I'm not supporting a Harry Reid project that runs to a city I usually stop at just to go to the bathroom.

This guy is the worst kind of example of what happens when the feds open up the free money cookie bag. Any huckster with a half assed idea and a PR angle figures he can earn in six figures for 5 or 10 years before it all goes broke. And a desperate politician is willing to wave it around like it's the savior of the economy.

Proposed DesertXpress high-speed rail line chugging along
By Richard N. Velotta
Las Vegas Sun
26 October 2011

A proposed high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California has received another federal government approval from a board that grants licenses to build new railroads.

The Surface Transportation Board last week approved an exemption from federal regulations permitting DesertXpress Enterprises LLC to build a 190-mile high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif. The board action was published today in the Federal Register.

“I’m pleased that the DesertXpress project is getting the green light to proceed, which will not only put tens of thousands of Nevadans to work, but ultimately bring more tourists to boost Nevada’s economy,” Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a release applauding the approval.

“I look forward to Nevadans being back on the job and more visitors from California choosing Las Vegas because of this high-speed rail option,” Reid said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration issued a record of decision — the final environmental review process — in July. The Surface Transportation Board exemption was another required administrative step toward beginning construction, probably next year.

Representatives of DesertXpress did not return calls seeking comments on additional details of its plans.

The Surface Transportation Board reviewed environmental implications of the project and the company’s financial and ridership analyses.

The company plans to operate trains traveling at 150 mph on dual tracks. The board decision lists the cost of the project at $6.5 billion, an increase from the $6 billion estimates previously given by DesertXpress.

The company is pursuing a $4.9 billion federal loan to build the line.



Read More: http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/oct/26/desertxpress-high-speed-rail-line/

Are there plans to ever extend the train to Los Angeles?

http://i.bnet.com/blogs/ca-vegas-hsr-map-desertxpress-corridor.jpeg

that is sooo out of the way... needs do follow the 15 down near ontario rather than pass us to palmdale then sylmar then come back here

that is sooo out of the way... needs do follow the 15 down near ontario rather than pass us to palmdale then sylmar then come back here

The high-speed rail technology can’t climb the Cajon Pass grade. True, there are freight train tracks between San Bernardino and Victorville, but curves would be too tight for a high-speed train to maintain speed.

i understand the grade would force trains to slow down, but it would still be faster than a full speed train traveling around to get downtown

DesertXpress project takes another step forward
By Richard N. Velotta (contact)
Las Vegas Sun
18 November 2011
11:58 a.m.

A third federal government agency has given a stamp of approval for a high-speed rail project between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif.

The Bureau of Land Management on Thursday issued a record of decision for the DesertXpress Enterprises LLC passenger rail line in Clark County and San Bernardino County, Calif.

The decision authorizes the use of right of way to build the line on public land administered by the BLM.

The DesertXpress project received similar approvals from the Surface Transportation Board in October and from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration in July.

The BLM determined that about 821 acres of public land would be needed for the permanent right of way. An additional 95 acres would be needed for temporary construction use. The project also includes about 2,800 acres of private land.

DesertXpress plans to begin engineering and construction next year on the 185-mile double track that would run along Interstate 15.

The company plans to operate trains traveling at 150 mph, with ticket costs averaging $50 per passenger one way.

The company is pursuing a $4.9 billion federal loan to build the $6.5 billion project.



Read More: http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/nov/18/desertxpress-project-takes-another-step-forward/

forum is very good

http://i.bnet.com/blogs/ca-vegas-hsr-map-desertxpress-corridor.jpeg

DesertXpress inks deal to add train link from Victorville to Palmdale, making travel to L.A. possible
By Richard N. Velotta (contact)
Thursday, 7 June 2012, 10:54 a.m.

A seamless high-speed rail system linking Las Vegas with downtown Los Angeles is the goal adopted today by representatives of DesertXpress and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.

DesertXpress Enterprises already is trying to build a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif. A new agreement signed today makes possible a second leg, linking Victorville to Palmdale, Calif., and eventually Los Angeles.

DesertXpress and MTA representatives signed documents that open the door to the Las Vegas-Los Angeles route. The agreement includes a strategy to plan and build a 50-mile high-speed line between Victorville and Palmdale, which would initially connect to Metrolink tracks and eventually be the connection point to California’s planned high-speed rail system.

The DesertXpress plan is part of a larger strategy envisioned by the Las Vegas-centered Western High Speed Rail Alliance to eventually tie into a regional high-speed rail network with routes to Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver.



Read More: http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/jun/07/desertxpress-inks-deal-add-train-link-victorville-/

This is just silliness. Antonovich takes a couple of digs at foreign aid then goes to DC to brief LaHood (as if LaHood hasn't been helping the LV company finagle federal funds for several years now).

Still not one cent of private funding as far as I can tell.

Just as a comparison to the HSR debacle: do we have detailed costs of construction, ridership and revenues reviewed by sophisticated investors and transportation professionals; savvy management with plenty of experience, etc.? Or some unemployed guys looking for free federal funds?

And the best is calling it a "loan" as if they were going to pay it back.

I no longer understand your opposition.