Comments due on proposed rails for LV-L.A. Amtrak line

Angela Soo

Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 | 9:33 a.m.

Public comment ends today for a proposed 19-mile Amtrak project that would run through a desert tortoise habitat area and eventually resume a rail service between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

The rail line would connect the Southern California communities of Kelso and Cima. It would be part of an effort to provide alternative transportation between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, said Amtrak spokeswoman Verne Grahm.

The entire new 19-mile segment lies in a desert tortoise habitat area protected by the Mojave National Preserve. The National Park and U.S. Fish and Wildlife services are conducting environmental assessments of the project to make sure the tortoise habitat is not disturbed.

Amtrak cannot begin construction until the public comment period concludes. If there are no major objections, Amtrak will be approved for a special-use permit and will begin construction late next year.

Those who would like to comment should call Dennis Schramm at (760) 255-8801 or mail their comments postmarked by today to Superintendent, Mojave National Preserve, 222 E. Main St. Suite 202, Barstow, Calif., 92311.

Amtrak already has about 320 miles of existing track that connects Las Vegas to Los Angeles from its former Desert Wind service that traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles. The service was discontinued in May 1997 due to low ridership and longer travel times. A one-way trip to Los Angeles from Las Vegas took about seven hours.

In order to reduce travel times on the new Las Vegas-Los Angeles service, Amtrak needs to build the 19-mile segment because it would allow its passenger train to pass slower moving freight trains on a Union Pacific Railroad line.

Rail cars on the route would also be replaced by faster, European-style cars, known as Talgo, which seat 300 passengers and maneuvers around curves better than previous Amtrak cars.

With the reinstated service between the two cities, a one-way trip would take five and a half to six hours instead of seven, Grahm said.

Most comments given to the Mojave National Preserve have been favorable toward Amtrak, said Dennis Schramm, who is in charge of the public comment period at the Mojave National Preserve.