Link: High-speed rail train to Victorville a go?
High-speed rail train to Victorville a go?
High-speed rail train to Victorville a go?
New federal designation could finally bring a high-speed rail line linking Las Vegas to Southern California.
Of the several competing plans, one stands to be up and running by 2012. News 3's Tiffany DeLeon digs deeper into how this will happen.
With over 60 percent of the I-15 highway considered heavily congested, designating the region as a federal high-speed rail corridor was necessary.
"On the five mile stretch of the interstate heading into downtown Las Vegas alone, 170,000 cars a day are tying up traffic," explains Ray Layhood, U.S. Transportation Secretary.
Embracing a new level of passenger rail service, people will soon have a convenient way to travel, reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
"We're not talking about a Disneyland ride here, folks," says Will Kemp. "We're talking about a system of rail travel that will attract ridership, protect the environment."
Relying on federal money and with a price tag of $12 billion, Senator Harry Reid abandoned his backing for the Maglev Train project, in which he had invested over 30 years.
Instead, he's announced his support for the Desert Xpress Train, a privately funded project that will run on steel wheels and steel tracks to Victorville, California.
"At least 45 to 50 percent of this will be privately funded and if we have to borrow some money under existing programs, (we) will make that happen," says Senator Reid. "Just because it hasn't been done in America doesn't mean it won't work. This is not the monorail; it's not light rail. It's high-speed rail."
The Desert Xpress Train project is estimated at $4 billion. Officials expect to break ground next spring.
"I am looking at the glass running over, not half-full," continues Senator Reid. "I'm looking at the positive impact of what we can do to stimulate the economy in Nevada, and that is high-speed rail."
A one-way ticket between Las Vegas and Southern California is expected to cost about $50.
1 comment:
DesertXpress is the nation’s first privately funded, exclusive (passenger-only) high speed interstate passenger railroad. The high speed rail system is being developed to provide a convenient and efficient travel alternative to Interstate 15, without tax payer dollars. Traffic on the I-15 is expected to grow 60% during the next several years. There are no public funds programmed, nor plans developed, to widen this highway over the majority of its length, which in most places has only two through lanes in each direction. A new transportation alternative is needed to mitigate traffic congestion on I-15. Victorville is the key to making the project financially viable by avoiding the inestimable high cost and environmental and community impacts of extending the line over Cajon Pass into the LA Basin; while bringing the service close enough to the majority of Southern Californians who drive to and from Nevada to make the project successful. The Victorville hub station diverts over 25% of the auto passengers off the road, thus providing much needed relief and bringing more people to Las Vegas by delivering high quality, frequent and reliable service in less time than it takes for most people to drive all the way across the Mojave Desert, or park, wait in line, board and fly to Las Vegas. The DesertXpress line is planned and designed to be extended as rapidly as possible approximately 50 miles to interface with the inter-modal facility planned in Palmdale on the voter-approved California High Speed Rail Project. Since the system will use non-proprietary, high quality, standard gauge steel rail technology, the lowest possible cost can be realized for expansions. The system also is designed to facilitate extensions to Ontario and other destinations in the Los Angeles/Orange County Basin, as and when funding becomes available. In Nevada, the system can be readily extended to other destinations as well, such as Phoenix and Salt Lake City, and can easily serve the proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport, which would locate its terminal complex immediately adjacent to the DesertXpress tracks.
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