GEOFF SCHUMACHER: Show me the riders (Source: ReviewJournal.com)

GEOFF SCHUMACHER: Show me the riders - Opinion - ReviewJournal.com

GEOFF SCHUMACHER: Show me the riders

GEOFF SCHUMACHER
MORE COLUMNS

Advocates of dueling proposals to build a high-speed train from Las Vegas to Southern California have been filling a lot of local news columns lately. One train would terminate in Anaheim, while the other would stop in Victorville. One would use magnetic levitation technology and go 300 mph, while the other would employ conventional motorized technology and top out at 150 mph. One would be considerably cheaper than the other.

The comparisons are interesting, and the politics are even more intriguing. Which train proposal will gain the upper hand? Why did Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., suddenly change allegiances? Why is Victorville -- not exactly the shining star of the L.A. metroplex -- the desired terminus for one of the trains?

This is all fascinating, but amid these discussions, a fundamental question has yet to be sufficiently answered: How many Southern Californians really want to ride a train to Las Vegas? Without a decent answer, the debates over technology, speed and cost are moot. If nobody wants to take the train to Las Vegas, a lot of time and money could be wasted.

Here are some things we know:

-- Most residents of the American Southwest own cars. We drive almost everywhere, and we aren't accustomed to relying on other forms of transportation. The mass transit culture of New York City, say, just hasn't gained traction yet in this part of the country.

-- For many Southern Californians, driving to Las Vegas is a time-honored pastime, memorialized in everything from Hunter Thompson's book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" to the recent hit movie "The Hangover." We know there's something about driving across the Mojave Desert that appeals to Southern Californians cooped up too long in the smog-draped hives of humanity hugging the Pacific. It takes them four to six hours to make the journey, just enough time to shake off their daily anxieties and gear up for a rip-roaring weekend in the gambling capital. And when they get here, they don't have to pay for or hassle with taxis or rental cars.

-- The highways linking Southern California with Las Vegas have some issues but for the most part motorists move along at a steady clip. It's not like the highways are so rough or narrow or congested that they represent a deterrent to making the drive.

-- Flying between Southern California and Las Vegas is cheap and easy. The flights are short, and the airlines offer affordable rates. There are several different airports in Southern California to choose from, giving most everybody a convenient option.

So, considering these things we know, is it possible there's no pressing need or demand for a high-speed train?

Here's another thing we know: Starting or ending your train trip in Victorville doesn't make much sense. That small inland city would be the western terminus for the DesertXpress, the conventional technology train.

Nothing against Victorville, but it isn't many people's idea of a vacation destination. If you live in Las Vegas and want to visit Southern California, you just don't think of stopping in Victorville unless you have family there.

And if you live in Southern California and want to go to Las Vegas, you'd have to drive to Victorville, park your car (probably for a fee) and then get on the train. I suspect that by the time most people escape the L.A. traffic and reach Victorville, they'd be inclined to drive themselves the rest of the way.

Maglev train advocates say their project would carry an initial passenger load of 43 million per year. DesertXpress supporters believe their train would carry 10 million. But what if these estimates are overly optimistic?

Consider the Las Vegas Monorail, which sold itself based on ridership estimates that, even in the best of economic times, it never came close to achieving. Today, the monorail is teetering on the verge of default and talking about a taxpayer bailout.

Consider also the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. It's a wonderful place, protecting historic open space in the middle of the city and educating the public about the desert environment. But the marketing research about visitorship was way off the mark, especially when it came to attracting tourists.

Finally, consider Amtrak, which ceased service to Las Vegas in 1997 primarily because of low ridership.

I'd like to be more optimistic. If millions of people rode a maglev train between Las Vegas and Southern California instead of driving or flying, it would be good for the environment. Even the motorized train probably would be a net gain.

But experience suggests the train would have to be an incredible bargain to attract the bulk of Southern Californians now driving or flying here. Both projects say they would be "competitive" with other modes of transportation. But "competitive" isn't going to cut it. It has to be dirt cheap, which surely would throw the business plan out of whack.

Much like professional sports, the high-speed train feels a little too ambitious and risky for Las Vegas right now. It feels like it ought to remain on the back burner a while longer.

Geoff Schumacher (gschumacher@reviewjournal.com) is the Review-Journal's director of community publications. His column appears Friday.

USDOT Announces HSR "Pre-Applications"

Link: California High Speed Rail Blog: USDOT Announces HSR "Pre-Applications"

Tuesday, July 14, 2009
USDOT Announces HSR "Pre-Applications"

by Robert Cruickshank

California has some competition - 39 competitors, if you're counting by state. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood made that statement at a press conference in Las Vegas yesterday:

On Monday Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that 40 states had submitted 270 high-speed rail pre-applications seeking to qualify for stimulus money.

A total of $93 billion has been preliminarily requested. The Transport Politic offers a great overview of the state applications. California represents $22.3 billion of that total:

Caltrans met the Friday deadline to submit preliminary applications for $22.3 billion in passenger and high-speed rail projects in three main corridors: San Francisco-San Jose (which includes improvements to San Francisco's Transbay Terminal), Los Angeles-Anaheim and the Central Valley.

Many of these applications were for "regional" multi-state projects, such as the New England and the Midwest.

Nevada also submitted a multi-billion request, entirely for the maglev project:

Neil Cummings, president of the American Magline Group, the private consortium of firms that would develop the maglev line, said the commission proposed building the first, 40-mile segment between Las Vegas and Primm. The cost would be $1.6 billion.

The group also submitted a second application to the Transportation Department for planning money to continue developing the line to Anaheim.

DesertXpress, for its part, didn't put in an application for HSR stimulus funds, but intends to make use of the planned national infrastructure bank program to finance up to 70% of the estimated $5 billion cost, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

I confess I would be surprised if maglev got much money out of this. Ray LaHood has previously said that California and Florida are in the lead for HSR funds, and although that doesn't guarantee a thing, we've always anticipated CA could get as much as $3-$4 billion of the HSR stimulus funds.

As far as I can tell that should remain the case. The Midwestern application has its issues, including what Ray LaHood has described as a lack of leadership. New England's application is interesting but as they already have the Acela, one might expect USDOT to spread the money around a bit.

We'll find out later this fall what the USDOT's final decision is.

PS: Apologies for the spotty posting of late. I came down with the flu while in LA last weekend, and I'm only just now coming out of the worst of it.
Posted by Robert Cruickshank at 5:43 PM

Many hands out for stimulus rail money Maglev system among them, but not rival DesertXpress

Many hands out for stimulus rail money - Las Vegas Sun

Many hands out for stimulus rail money
Maglev system among them, but not rival DesertXpress

Sen. Harry Reid, right, listens as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood speaks July 2 at a news conference to designate a high-speed-rail corridor.

By Lisa Mascaro (contact)

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Washington — A moment of truth has arrived for Nevada’s two proposed fast-train lines competing for the passenger-rich route between Las Vegas and Southern California.

On Monday Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that 40 states had submitted 270 high-speed rail pre-applications seeking to qualify for stimulus money.

Will the privately backed, $5 billion DesertXpress high-speed train between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif., seek funding, even though its backers have promised they don’t need federal dollars?

Will the publicly backed, $12 billion magnetic levitation line between Las Vegas and Anaheim push forward, even after losing the support of its chief backer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, because it had taken too long to develop?

The Transportation Department is not commenting on the proposals it received by Friday’s deadline.

But a spokeswoman for DesertXpress said the project did not pre-apply for funding because it intends to remain privately funded. (The project instead will seek federal government loans, which are available for up to 100 percent of the cost.)

The maglev line’s sponsors at the California Nevada Super Speed Train Commission did submit a pre-application for the project, a spokesman said.

In the end, it remains unclear whether Nevada will get any of the $8 billion now available for high-speed rail.

The Obama administration has launched an unprecedented outlay in rail as part of the economic recovery bill passed by Congress and signed into law this year. President Barack Obama’s budget has since requested another $5 billion over the next five years to further fund rail development.

Maglev is a technology untried on rail in this country, and LaHood said he expects most of the proposals will be for high-speed rail lines similar to those now operating in Europe and Asia.

LaHood noted that maglev proposals are very expensive.

“We’re going to consider proposals that are serious proposals, that have the kind of inter-modality, multi-state, regional approach,” LaHood told reporters during a roundtable at Transportation Department headquarters.

When asked if maglev would be considered a “serious” proposal, LaHood said, “I think it’ll be serious if we get one.”

Final applications are due next month.

Reid had been a longtime backer of the maglev train proposal as he sought a rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California, but he grew frustrated with the pace of development and switched his support to the upstart DesertXpress.

Traffic on the roads and in the air between the two destinations is at capacity, and the Las Vegas tourism industry depends on the easy flow of visitors from Southern California, who make up a great portion of the Strip visitors.

In a few short years the DesertXpress project has invested $25 million on engineering plans for the line to Victorville.

Critics say the Victorville line is a train to nowhere, as the high-desert outpost is 85 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. But project supporters envision giving travelers a Vegas-like experience from the time they step on the train for the ride across the desert.

DesertXpress supporters also see their train one day connecting to California’s proposed north-south line that is to make a stop in Palmdale, just west of Victorville, providing a connection into downtown Los Angeles.

DesertXpress is backed by Sig Rogich, a Republican political guru in Nevada who is a Reid supporter and co-chairman of Reid’s reelection group Republicans for Reid.

In early July, LaHood designated the Las Vegas-to-Southern California route a high-speed rail corridor, enabling a proposed line to qualify for stimulus money.

Already, 10 high-speed rail corridors exist nationwide, areas determined under previous administrations as focal points for fast-train development.

But LaHood downplayed the significance of the corridor designation, saying the department is open as it judges the best projects. “Even those that maybe are not as far along as other regions will be considered,” he said.

Neil Cummings, president of the American Magline Group, the private consortium of firms that would develop the maglev line, said the commission proposed building the first, 40-mile segment between Las Vegas and Primm. The cost would be $1.6 billion.

The group also submitted a second application to the Transportation Department for planning money to continue developing the line to Anaheim.

Cummings estimates the maglev project would be jointly financed with 20 percent to 50 percent in private investment.

Organizers of both projects promise to break ground in 18 months.

DesertXpress has maintained it will not seek public funds, but may apply for loans from the federal government through a project that is separate from the recovery funds. The group expects to finance 70 percent of the cost.

Rail experts have said no private rail lines exist because they are not profitable.

Reid uses corridor designation to show backing for private project (Source: Las Vegas Sun)

Link: A boost for DesertXpress - Las Vegas Sun

A boost for DesertXpress:
Reid uses corridor designation to show backing for private project


Leila Navidi

Senator Harry Reid, with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, holds a press conference about a proposed high-speed train that would go from Las Vegas to Southern California in downtown Las Vegas Thursday, July 2, 2009.

By Lisa Mascaro & Stephanie Tavares

Friday, July 3, 2009 | 2 a.m.
High-speed train press conference


* U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood speaks at a press conference on Thursday, July 2, 2009.



Chris Morris

Nowhere on the official documents from Thursday’s announcement of a new high-speed rail corridor between Las Vegas and Los Angeles is the proposed DesertXpress featured as the preferred project.

But make no mistake: DesertXpress is the chosen one, at least for now.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid backs the private venture, and he let it be known that the privately backed train to Victorville, Calif., not the once-hoped-for magnetic levitation train to Anaheim, was the one for which the Transportation Department’s new corridor is intended.

The publicly run $12 billion maglev proposal has worn out its welcome after 30 years in the planning stages, Reid said. He reiterated that he is ready to put his efforts into the newer DesertXpress.

“I’m not going to put any more of my (time) into maglev,” Reid said. “It’s time for action in this corridor. We’re past the planning stage; we’ve got to move on and start the construction.”

Reid predicted that the $5 billion Desert-

Xpress, backed by his political supporter Sig Rogich, a Republican leader in Nevada, would be up and running by 2012. Ground would be broken early next year, and Reid said it would be built with “40 to 50 percent” private financing, and the rest government loans, if needed.

The announcement Thursday came with a large map showing the DesertXpress route to Victorville, the high-desert outpost 85 miles north of Los Angeles, and its planned spur to Palmdale to connect with California’s planned north-south line connecting San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orange County.

But the Transportation Department made it clear later in the day that it did not supply that map. Also, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declined to weigh in on the fierce competition between the two Las Vegas trains.

“We believe that the development of regional high-speed passenger rail systems will create jobs, spur economic development and provide positive environmental benefits for all Americans,” LaHood said in a statement.

A Transportation spokeswoman later explained that the department did not choose one train over the other. “We didn’t pick a route,” she said. “We know there are obviously two competing proposals. The states decide.”

Technically, the Las Vegas route is an extension of the department’s existing California corridor, an offshoot of that state’s $45 billion line, which will be financed in part by an $11 billion bond passed by voters last fall.

Establishing a corridor will open the door to allow the Las Vegas project to compete for $8 billion in federal stimulus money passed by Congress this year, as well as other federal aid.

However, DesertXpress does not immediately qualify for that money because it is not a state-sponsored agency, which is required under federal guidelines. No private companies can independently qualify.

DesertXpress has insisted it has no interest in tapping the stimulus money, but said it may want low-interest government loans. The company has said it intends to privately finance 30 percent of the cost, but would borrow the rest — about $3.5 billion.

The Transportation Department runs a loan program that can fund 100 percent of the project, payable in 35 years.

Experts say there are virtually no privately run rail lines in operation anywhere in the world because they cannot be built without public money, and cannot turn a profit. The private monorail system in Las Vegas may soon seek public aid.

DesertXpress issued a statement saying it was “thrilled” with the day’s announcement. The company has poured $25 million into planning documents.

“The solid support expressed for our privately funded DesertXpress project today, as part of a great solution to

I-15 congestion and as a lifeline to Nevada’s tourism industry, is significant,” DesertXpress President Tom Stone said.

The publicly run maglev proposal will continue to press on, its backers said.

“We intend to move ahead,” said Neil Cummings, president of American Magline Group, the private consortium hired by the California Nevada Super Speed Train Commission to build the maglev train.

He understood, however, the message at the conference.

“Certainly, there was no mention of the maglev system,” he said.

USDOT, two states agree to extend California HSR corridor from L.A. to Las Vegas (Source: Progressive roading.com)

USDOT, two states agree to extend California HSR corridor from L.A. to Las Vegas

USDOT, two states agree to extend California HSR corridor from L.A. to Las Vegas

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced it reached an agreement with the states of California and Nevada to extend the California High-Speed Rail Corridor from the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas.

The 800-mile corridor long has been proposed to run between Sacramento and San Diego with stops in the San Francisco and L.A. areas.

“The extension of the California corridor is another great example of regional cooperation, which will be critical to transforming travel in America and the creation of a national system of high-speed rail lines,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a prepared statement. “We believe that the development of regional high-speed passenger rail systems will create jobs, spur economic development and provide positive environmental benefits for all Americans.”

The USDOT has issued a high-speed rail strategic plan and recently announced guidelines for states and groups of states to apply for $8 billion in stimulus funds. The department expects to announce the first round of merit-based grants in the fall.

Meanwhile, the California High-Speed Rail Authority — which is overseeing the corridor’s development — last week elected Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle chairman to succeed Quentin Kopp, who chaired the agency for two terms. In addition, the authority elected attorney and former California Assembly member Tom Umberg vice chairman.

New rail corridor between L.A. and Las Vegas could doom maglev project (Source: Los Angeles Times)

Link: New rail corridor between L.A. and Las Vegas could doom maglev project - Los Angeles Times

New rail corridor between L.A. and Las Vegas could doom maglev project. Corridor along I-15 draws support from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who says he will try to move funds from the maglev project to a new, European-style train system.

By Ashley Powers and Dan Weikel
July 3, 2009

Reporting from Los Angeles and Las Vegas -- A potential corridor for passenger trains between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has become part of a federal initiative to modernize the nation's rail networks and develop high-speed service between cities.

Thursday's announcement, however, might doom a 30-year-old proposal to build a high-tech magnetic levitation, or "maglev," train from Anaheim to Las Vegas if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) gets his way.

Reid, who no longer supports the maglev project, said during an event to publicize the rail corridor that he would try to scuttle $45 million in federal funds earmarked for the proposal. The maglev project and a conventional rail line proposed by a private venture are trying to develop separate high speed passenger trains that would parallel oft-congested Interstate 15. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced Thursday that a swath of land along much of I-15 has been declared a federal high-speed rail corridor -- one of 11 such zones in the U.S. Projects proposed in those corridors are eligible for federal assistance, grants and loans.

Federal officials say the development of a successful high speed rail system between Southern California and Nevada would dramatically reduce delays and traffic accidents on I-15.

"For transportation, it's the most important thing that's happened to Nevada since Interstate 15," said Reid, who likened the federal high speed rail program to President Eisenhower's effort in the 1950s to develop the interstate highway system.

Last month, the Nevada senator withdrew his support for the maglev project in favor of a plan by DesertXPress Enterprises to build a European-style high speed train that relies on conventional technology. The 150 mph system would run about 200 miles from Victorville to Las Vegas and cost about $3.5-$4 billion to build.

The maglev project would extend 270 miles and cost an estimated $12 billion. Maglev technology relies on electricity and magnetic force to propel trains on a cushion of air at speeds up to 300 mph.

"I've studied maglev enough," said Reid, who added that the DesertXPress is closer to breaking ground. "We're past the planning stage. We've got to move on and start construction."

Proponents of the maglev proposal said it was unlikely that Reid would be able to persuade Congress to reverse its decision to provide funding.

"We are relying on the law and how it reads. We believe that nothing will change," said Neil Cummings, president of the American Magline Group, a consortium of private companies involved in the project.

ashley.powers@latimes.com

dan.weikel@latimes.com

From LAist: DesertXpress Train to Vegas in Planning Stages

Link: DesertXpress Train to Vegas in Planning Stages - LAist

DesertXpress Train to Vegas in Planning Stages



After 30 years of planning, the MagLev project between Anaheim and Vegas lost one of its biggest proponents last month to a train part of the federal high-speed rail corridor. Nevada Senator Harry Reid is now behind the DesertXpress between Southern California and Las Vegas that would mainly go along Interstate 15. Unfortunately, the phase planned right now only goes between Vegas and Victorville. Why Victorville? Their website explains:

Of course it would be great if DesertXpress could be extended to downtown Los Angeles, Anaheim and Ontario, and someday it might. But for this initial project, it is critical for the station to serve the Southern California market and be financeable without public tax dollars.


Victorville makes a lot of sense because it is the first major population center northeast of the Cajon Pass through the San Bernardino mountain range separating the High Desert from the Los Angeles basin. Victorville is within only a 30- to 45-minute drive for roughly 5 million people who live in the Inland Empire, Antelope Valley, and the eastern portions of Los Angeles County, and only a one to two hour's drive for most of the rest of the Southland's 21 million residents—many of whom routinely drive at least an hour to and from work each weekday.

Victorville also is the choke point of I-15, where the roadway narrows from from four through lanes to three in each direction. With the station in Victorville, DesertXpress avoids the uncertainty of the challenging 200-mile drive across the Mojave Desert that could take anywhere from 4 hours to 10 hours - you never know, because of congestion and incidents or accidents.

Yes, someday "it might" go to Los Angeles." The Victorville leg will cost $3.5 to $4 billion for 200 miles of work--that's less than proposed subway to the sea in Los Angeles.

By Zach Behrens in News on July 3, 2009 9:15 AM

Comments (2) [rss]

[1] | Ross A. Lincoln

This makes zero sense. Victorville is a declining community that is bleeding people as quickly as it is bleeding job. The only growth industry, besides meth production, is teenage pregnancy and this is the community they think will most serve the needs of this train? Do they honestly think people will drive to VV to get onto a train? Please.

Seems to me this whole thing is nothing more than an expensive way to kill the entire project.

| July 3, 2009 10:52 AM

  

Ross: Though I agree with you on the Victorville terminus, that's only Phase I. The goal is to bring it to Palmdale to tie into the CA High-Speed Rail project. If the projects are designed to use similar equipment and track gauges, it's possible that the Vegas train will be able to use the HSR corridor for a direct connection to Union Station. The future extension of the CA HSR to San Diego will head east from Union Station through the San Gabriel Valley/Inland Empire, so that's another possible connection the DesertXpress can make.

As I understand it, the point of DesertXpress is to get *something* built a significant portion of the way to Vegas as quickly as possible using mostly private funding.

Also, the DesertXpress and the Vegas-Anaheim maglev proposals are totally separate. Maglev deserves to die a quick death IMO, since the cost is unacceptable and the technology incompatible with the future CAHSR network.

I may not drive to VV to hop on a train to Vegas (I don't go to Vegas that often), but people in the SGV and IE aren't that far away and may be more willing. I'd definitely use the train if I could take HSR to Palmdale and transfer - or better yet if the DesertXpress used the HSR right of way from Union Station.