Fed panel to pick train projects

Benjamin Grove

Monday, July 3, 2000 | 11:14 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A finalized proposal to build a high-speed train between Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif., is now in the hands of the National Railroad Administration.

The agency collected proposals from seven groups from around the nation on Friday, deadline for the plans.

The seven groups are in a heated competition for $950 million in federal money to build a super-speed magnetic levitation, or maglev, rail line. It would be the first maglev line in America.

The other routes would link Pittsburgh with the Pittsburgh Airport; the New Orleans airport with the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal; Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn.; Los Angeles International Airport, downtown L.A., Ontario Airport and Riverside County; Port Canaveral, the Space Center and Titusville Regional Airport in Florida; and Camden Yards in Baltimore, Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Union Station in Washington.

The railroad administration will narrow the field to three proposals by Sept. 30 and choose one by March 31.

The administration received "boxes" of information from the seven groups, said Arnold Kupferman, director of the maglev project for the railroad administration.

The proposals detailed routes, station locations, passenger counts, costs, revenue projections, train schedules and funding. The proposals also included details about how the federal money would match with private funds.

"Basically we are trying to figure out is there anyone really willing, ready and able to build this thing," Kupferman said.

The Nevada-California Super Speed Train Commission's proposal was nearly three inches thick in two volumes, Kupferman said.

The high-speed train is propelled by magnetic force, hovering just above a guideway track and could reach up to 300 mph. If the Las Vegas-Anaheim route is chosen, the federal money would be used to construct the first segment of the track from Las Vegas to Primm with the ultimate goal of a 272-mile, $6.8 billion route to California. Tourism officials hope the train could shuttle loads of Southern California visitors to Las Vegas.

If the Nevada-California proposal advances, the train could be in operation as early as 2005. Benjamin Grove

covers Washington D.C. for the Sun. He can be reached at (202) 628-3100, ext. 269 or by e-mail at benjamingrove@yahoo.com