California High Speed Rail

[saiholmes]

Originally Posted by Los Angeles Times

Vote on high-speed rail called 'big win' for California
July 7, 2012 | 7:53 am
Chris Megerian and Ralph Vartabedian
Los Angeles Times

The state Senate vote authorizing initial funding for California's high-speed rail project was hailed by backers Friday as a pivotal step in building the controversial project.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who had made repeated trips and telephone calls to California to push for the project, called the vote a "big win" for the state.

"No economy can grow faster than its transportation network allows," LaHood said in a statement. "With highways between California cities congested and airspace at a premium, Californians desperately need an alternative."

It is unclear when construction on the largest infrastructure project in the country can begin. The state still needs a series of regulatory approvals to start the first 130 miles of track in the Central Valley. The plan also faces lawsuits by agriculture interests and potential opposition by major freight railroads.

But proponents rejoiced at Friday's razor-thin 21-16 vote, which allocates roughly $8 billion for the first segment of track and related projects. Barring insurmountable obstacles, Californians eventually will be able to ride a bullet train — traveling as fast as 220 mph — between Los Angeles and San Francisco rather than fly or drive on aging highways.

"The Legislature took bold action today that gets Californians back to work and puts California out in front once again," Gov. Jerry Brown said in a statement. The governor has been promoting the project since taking office in 2011 and is expected to sign the funding bill.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who was under intense pressure to round up votes in support of the plan, called Friday "a turning point in California, a time when we decided to say yes to hope, yes to progress, yes to the future."

Read More: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...alifornia.html

[saiholmes]

[saiholmes]

[D Green]

Wow, nice to see a connection between LV and Cali.

[saiholmes]

[jcastro805]

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/10/30/...cy-pushes.html

[-Corey-]

Another delay!

[jcastro805]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — As if a weekend in Las Vegas isn't wild enough for Southern Californians, a Nevada entrepreneur is about to add five more hours of party to either end.

After striking an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad last week, the Las Vegas Railway Express is one step closer to bringing to life the X Train, a luxurious "party train" complete with big screen TVs, recliners and two ultra lounges.

"The whole idea is when you get on a train, you feel like you're in Las Vegas," said Michael Barron, president and CEO of the $100 million venture that hopes to launch its maiden voyage on New Year's Eve 2013. "It's essentially a nightclub on wheels."

Tourists can't get from Southern California to Las Vegas by rail alone, and Barron's company isn't the first to try and fix that. The much-talked-about XpressWest project proposes a high-speed train connecting Sin City to the region from which it draws 25 percent of its tourists.

But it's a multi-billion-dollar proposal that would require setting new tracks, and it's often panned as a "train to nowhere" because the first phase would start in relatively obscure Victorville, about 100 miles outside of Los Angeles.

The X Train proposal calls for an Amtrak crew aboard a 576-passenger train that runs at standard speeds on traditional tracks.

It would start in Fullerton, Calif. — already home to an Amtrak station and part of Southern California's Metrolink commuter train network — and end in downtown Las Vegas.

A conditional agreement with Union Pacific, approved Nov. 16, will allow the company to use a rail line that's currently limited to freight trains and hasn't served passengers since Amtrak discontinued its Desert Wind service in 1997 due to low ridership.

Tickets for the adults-only train would cost $99 each way and include a meal and beverage, with plenty more alcohol available for purchase. To keep ticket prices low, the company would try to make money booking Las Vegas hotels and entertainment for passengers.

With initial plans for one trip a day on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday, Barron believes he can attract tourists weary of the weekend traffic gridlock and perhaps hung over from their weekend revelry.

"Sunday is horrific," Barron said of the Interstate 15 corridor that links Las Vegas and its neighbor. "So now you've been up for 40 hours gambling and you have to drive for seven hours — that's just horrible. But people do it in spite of that!"

John Lawson, who was in Las Vegas from Orange County for a few days over Thanksgiving, said he'd like the option of hopping on a train rather than braving bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way back.

"If you party really hard, it sucks driving back," said Lawson, 28.

Vegas visitor Christina Bojorquez, 25, said she'd have to weigh the cost of the train ride against other cheap options, including discounted flights and sharing the expense of driving to Vegas.

"For special occasions it would be good, but not all the time," she said.

Tom Skancke, a transportation consultant for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, pointed to the proposed trains and other alternatives to personal cars as options that could entice a new generation of tourists. A new Greyhound Express nonstop bus route between L.A. and Las Vegas launched earlier this month.

"These modes of transportation do appeal to a younger, more eco-friendly traveler," Skancke said. "This generation is more interested in passenger rail, transit and high-speed rail than previous generations."

There's still work to be done on the X Train to get it running by late 2013. The sixteen cars the company has purchased need to be renovated, and a station needs to be completed in downtown Vegas.

"We're four years and $12 million into it. It's a lot of infrastructure building," Barron said. "This is a simple concept in discussion, but it's complicated to do."

http://news.yahoo.com/calif-vegas-pa...--finance.html

[Cal_Escapee]

California high-speed rail official discusses project during San Francisco visit
By: Bay City News | 01/10/13 8:05 PM

Ben Tripousis, regional director for Northern California, told a packed auditorium at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association that the under-three-hour trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles could be a reality by 2029, but that a host of political, financial and logistical obstacles must be overcome before high-speed trains reach the Bay Area . . . .

One of the keys to making the 800-mile system a reality is moving ahead with early investments in local transportation corridors that will eventually accommodate high-speed trains, Tripousis said.

“Here in the Bay Area, our focus is largely on the electrification of Caltrain,” he said.

As part of the $8 billion high-speed rail funding plan approved by the state Legislature in July, more than $700 million was committed to the electrification of Caltrain between San Francisco and San Jose. Additional investments were committed to other Bay Area agencies, including BART, which is slated to receive $145 million, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which will receive $61 million . . . .

High-speed rail also is expected to stimulate the region’s economic growth by allowing San Francisco International Airport to concentrate on expanding long-distance and international airline service, instead of continuing to be bogged down by north-south regional flights, Gillett said.

“We are reaching our limits in the air,” she said.

Construction on the first operating phase of the rail system — a 130-mile stretch between the Central Valley cities of Madera and Bakersfield — is expected to start in July.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/tran...ing-san-franci

For those unfamiliar with the project, lawsuits have virtually blocked consideration of new parallel tracks for HSR only between San Francisco and San Jose so HSR trains will eventually run on the CalTrain tracks. That means that electrification of calTrain is an essential part of building out HSR.

The other point here is that San Francisco International Airport is near capacity and that it uses too much of its capacity on trips to and from Southern California. That makes development of HSR inevitable IMHO. SFO cannot be meaningfully expanded for environmental reasons. HSR is the only way to provide efficient new NorCal-SoCal service as the state's population grows.

[desertpunk]

^
Or the airlines operating between cities in CA can buy a bunch of A380s, rip out the seats and make passengers stand!

It's coming together for HSR in California but slowly and...who wants to go between Bako and Madera???

[612bv3]

Source: www.insidebayarea.com

Amtrak, California to team up to buy high-speed rail trains

By Kevin Freking Associated Press
Posted: 01/17/2013 12:34:29 PM PST
Updated: 01/17/2013 01:12:38 PM PST

WASHINGTON -- The two biggest players in the nation's pursuit of high-speed rail said Thursday they'll work together to search for trains that will operate at up to 220 mph along both coasts of the United States.

Officials with Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority said they envision that the two systems will purchase about 60 trains during the next decade. The first order could take place next year.

The aim is for manufacturers to design trains that will work for both systems. In the process, their combined buying power should generate better pricing from manufacturers.

Read more: http://www.insidebayarea.com/breakin...igh-speed-rail

[jcastro805]

That is a good sign of things to come. Like Desertpunk said, it is coming together, albeit slowly.

[CrazyAboutCities]

Awesome! What about Desert Xpress? They were supposed to start construction a while ago but haven't hear anything about it.

[saiholmes]

[jcastro805]

By Alfred Twu
https://sites.google.com/site/califo...ed-rail-system

[jcastro805]

Open houses for rail input scheduled for Sacramento, Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles, Fresno, plus webinar this month:

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is pleased to host a series of open houses for the California State Rail Plan (CSRP). Caltrans will be presenting the Draft of the CSRP, which establishes a statewide vision, sets priorities, and develops implementation strategies to enhance passenger and freight rail service in the public interest.

Your Input is Important to Us!

To review the Draft Plan and comment, please join us at one of the five events listed below. Comments may be submitted at any of the Open House meetings. The public comment period will begin on February 8, 2013 and end on March 11, 2013. The Draft CSRP is available online at http://californiastaterailplan.com/project-materials.

Additional ways you can provide comments:

Submit them online at http://californiastaterailplan.com/contact/.
Write a letter or mail your a comment form (Click here for comment form) to California Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Planning, Office of Rail Planning – CSRP, c/o Emily Burstein, Project Manager, 1120 N Street, MS 74, Sacramento, CA 95814; or
Email your comments to CSRP@dot.ca.gov

The final plan will respond to public comments received during the comment period and will be issued in mid-2013. Final comments must be received by March 11, 2013.

Reasonable accommodations will be provided upon request for people with disabilities and for those who require Spanish translation. Please call Shelly Chernicki at (916) 654-6142.

If you are unable to attend a meeting, you can participate in the online Webinar on February 26 as shown below. Each of the scheduled open houses will present the same project information.

The open house schedule is as follows:

Sacramento
February 12, 2013 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
California State Railroad Museum, Stanford Gallery
111 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 - MAP

Oakland
February 14, 2013 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Elihu M. Harris State Office Building, Room 1
1515 Clay Street Oakland, CA 94612 - MAP

San Diego
February 19, 2013 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Caltrans District 11 – San Diego Office Building 1st Floor Conference Room
4050 Taylor Street, San Diego, CA 92110 - MAP

Los Angeles
February 20, 2013 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Lobby
One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles CA 90012 - MAP

Fresno
February 21, 2013 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Hugh M. Burns State Building, Assembly Room 1036
2550 Mariposa Mall Fresno, CA 93721 - MAP

Online Webinar
February 26, 2013 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
WebLink: https://aecom.webex.com/aecom/onstag...=597054493&t=a,
Event Password: RailPlan1

http://californiastaterailplan.com/2...february-2013/

[desertpunk]

DesertXpress is now XpressWest

A high-speed train would help Palmdale grow and benefit Las Vegas

The city of Palmdale, Calif., recently hosted a diversity summit where Las Vegas business owners brainstormed strategies to win contracts for building XpressWest, the proposed high-speed train to Southern California.

XpressWest initially was slated to run only between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif., but agreements reached last year extended it 50 miles west to Palmdale. Palmdale is part of the California High-Speed Rail line and is a key connection point for carrying people between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Palmdale Mayor James Ledford recently sat down with VEGAS INC to talk about what XpressWest means both to his city and to Las Vegas:

[...]

read more:http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2013/fe...and-las-vegas/

A big idea, but that first step...


http://www.xpresswest.com/network.html

[desertpunk]

Sorry about the XL size of these:


http://www.xpresswest.com/expansion.html


http://www.xpresswest.com/expansion.html

[iloveinfrastructure]

Just a Southwest Transit idea
A mega-airport (probably worlds biggest) near the Salton sea.
Over 300 MPH trains from this transit hub to Las Vegas, Phoenix/Tuscon, San Diego, and Irvine/Los Angeles

[jcastro805]

At the rate the Salton Sea is evaporating, there will be plenty of flat lake bed to build the worlds largest airport in a decade.