Train project still viable

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, June 21, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Officials chasing federal money to construct a high-speed, magnetically propelled train between Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif., say powerful friends in Congress are keeping their bid alive.

The Transportation Department earlier this year chose two routes from seven proposals for further study: one in the Pittsburgh area and one between Washington and Baltimore. But officials have not yet selected a final route to award $950 million and the five other groups are still hoping to land the money.

The flat, straight desert route of the California-Nevada proposal is still the best bargain and best suited for immediate construction, said Neil Cummings, president of the American Magline Group, a consortium of companies intent on completing the project. Cummings was scheduled to appear today at a House hearing on the magnetic levitation, or maglev, train technology.

Maglev trains, which can achieve speeds of 300 mph and have been developed in Germany, have not been constructed in the United States. The trains are touted as a safe, fast, quiet, cost-effective, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly solution to unclogging congested U.S. freeways and airports.

The DOT dealt a blow to the California-Nevada project when it chose Washington and Pittsburgh as finalists for the federal money. But "finalist" is a misconception, Cummings said.

All seven projects are technically still competitive for the money, Cummings said.

The California-Nevada proposal has influential friends in Congress, Cummings said. House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, likes the Nevada project and believes the western United States should be home to one of the projects, his aides have said.

Young took a trip to Germany to ride the maglev train there, in part at the urging of Cummings and the Nevada delegation, Cummings said.

"He believes this project is the best for the West and the best for the entire country," Cummings said.

Rick Alcalde, Washington lobbyist for the train project added, "Having allies like Congressman Young and (Majority Whip) Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the Senate, makes us very optimistic."

Project backers also note that Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., is also a member of the Transportation Committee, and continues lobbying for the California-Nevada project. She testified today that the proposal would bring "vital relief" to gridlock in Southern California and Nevada.

"I've been sharing with my colleagues on the committee all the things that Southern Nevadans live with every day," Berkley said in a prepared statement. "Our highways are overcrowded and congested. Our airports are forced to make the most of under funded budgets."

Officials say they could break ground as early as next year on the first leg of the 272-mile, $6.8 billion route to Anaheim. First they would complete a 42-mile, $1.3 billion leg between Las Vegas and Primm. In the short term, officials are seeking about $7 million to complete environmental impact studies, Cummings said.