Senate majority leader no longer aboard plan for maglev train to Vegas | L.A. Now | Los Angeles Times
Senate majority leader no longer aboard plan for maglev train to Vegas
5:48 PM | June 8, 2009
Lanowtrain
U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader and an ardent supporter of high speed rail systems, said today he no longer favors construction of a maglev -- or magnetic levitation -- train between Anaheim and Las Vegas.
Instead, the Nevada Democrat said he now favors a conventional high speed train between Victorville and Las Vegas -- a privately funded venture that is farther along in the planning process and cheaper to build than the maglev proposal, which has been studied for almost three decades.
“I”ve been working on this for 30 years," Reid said. "We’ve gotten nowhere. Maglev projects have been abandoned around the world. It’s time to stop talking and start doing something.”
The proposed DesertXpress is a steel-wheeled train that would travel up to 150 mph along the heavily traveled I-15 corridor. It would provide an alternative to motorists who often drive more than six hours one way during weekends to reach Las Vegas from the Los Angeles area. The 183-mile system is estimated to cost $3.5 billion to $4 billion.
In contrast, the system proposed by the American Maglev Group, which would rely on government funding and bonds sold to investors, would run 270 miles and cost at least $12 billion to build. A first leg is planned for Las Vegas to Primm on the Nevada-California line.
Maglev technology uses magnetic force to propel trains on a cushion of air down a guideway at speeds of more than 300 mph.
Citing a recent Government Accountability Office study, Reid said he had lost confidence in the maglev project, which the report stated could cost up to $40 billion -- far more than originally estimated.
“Maglev is not a priority for me anymore,” Reid said. “We need to get people moving. The I-15 is not working.”
-- Dan Weikel
Photo: A prototype magnetically levitated train, or maglev, travels over a bridge at a test center in Tsuru in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, in late 1997. Credit: Kyodo News via Associated Press
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Someone explain how this LA-Vegas Hi-greed...er...Hi-speed rail system is a benefit for California. 90+% of the traffic will be Californians heading to Vegas to gamble away their money. Aside from hotels and casinos what else does Vegas have to offer? Win-win for state of Nevada, Not So much for CA.
Posted by: Warren | June 08, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Yay! Now, spend another $2-4 billion of government money to build it to CAHSR system specs and drag the line to the CAHSR station in palmdale and you've got the ability to go from Irvine/LA/Bakersfield/Sacramento/San Francisco without switching trains.
Posted by: KinOfCain | June 08, 2009 at 06:02 PM
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