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Forum to address DesertXpress train proposal
Fri, Aug 28, 2009 (3 a.m.)
Backers of the DesertXpress train proposal will discuss it at a UNLV Transportation Research Center forum that organizers hope will be the first of several sessions on developing high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Southern California.
The forum, sponsored in association with the Ward 5 Chamber of Commerce, will feature a presentation by DesertXpress President Tom Stone and begins at 6 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Science and Engineering Building at UNLV.
The event is free, but because of limited seating, e-mail lasvegasward5@gmail.com to reserve a seat.
“What we’re planning to do is have other forums with some of the other development proposals in the weeks ahead,” said Ken Peck, director of the UNLV Transportation Research Center.
Peck said he expects forums would be scheduled for the American Magline Group to present its vision of a maglev system and for Frank Randak’s SolaTrek transportation proposal.
Stone has said the DesertXpress, a $4 billion traditional steel-wheels-on-rails high-speed train, would be ready for construction early next year. But the plan has received lukewarm reception in Las Vegas because the line would begin at Victorville, Calif.
The maglev proposal, which would cost $12 billion, hasn’t completed environmental studies, but would run between Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif., when completed. The SolaTrek is a concept for a freeway-decluttering car-shuttle system that would use maglev technology.
Peck said forums addressing other aspects of high-speed transportation also would be scheduled.
The Ward 5 Chamber of Commerce is assisting with the forums in a bid to attract jobs to Southern Nevada for the construction and operation of any transportation system.
Discussion: 6 comments so far…
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If america is supposed to be a technology leader, then why is the US soooo far behind the rest of the world in high speed rail?
Clearly, special interests have been at work here.
Like GM, Firestone and Gulf oil who colluded to get rid of mass transit rail in the US in the 50s and 60s.
The US is nothing but an Oligopolistic Plutocracy.
Las Vegas is dead, DOA. You can gamble in every state except Utah.
The decline of the auto industry, the prospect of peak oil along with the devolution of regional air travel means that trains will most certainly make a comeback.
Nevertheless, this old resort town and fledgling energy center absolutely *must* have a high speed rail passenger rail to LA.
And by the way, when are we going to extend the monorail to the airport, the West Strip and downtown casinos? Without those terminal points why bother with the train in the first place?
"Las Vegas is dead, DOA. You can gamble in every state except Utah."
Las Vegas: Dead since 1940.
Brought to you by the same folks who gave us the "MONORAIL TO NOWHERE"!!!
The monorail boondoggle should be a reminder to us that even though it's built with private funds, that is NOT always the best idea. The monorail was also supposed to be expanded to serve the strip from the airport and to evenually take passengers downtown "sometime in the future". That future will NEVER happen because there were only "private" studies to slant the monorail favorably to serve the strip and NOT the community at large. It's a failure.
And what in G-d's name am I supposed to do when I get to Victorville, huh? Shop at the Victorville Mall?
We just came back from a 4 day vacation at Disneyland. Robert and I saw GREAT airfares to the L.A. area. 49 bucks each way...but to rent a car in L.A. was outrageous!!! Nothing for under 300.00 for the couple of days...economy car, no less! We drove instead.
If there was a high speed train going from our home here in Vegas directly to the Anaheim resort area at a competitive price to the airfare, where we wouldn't have to rent a car...BINGO! And there would be a GREAT oppertunity for our resorts here in Vegas to market themselves for profitable day trips (like Atlantic City, anybody?) or even package deals for overniters. Plenty of folks visiting Anaheim for a week from all over the country would love to spend some time here in Las Vegas...and try something unique to get here...a high speed mag-lev train like we see in Japan.
Hell, when we were in Europe taveling between London to Paris we took the "chunnel" instead of flying because of the unique experiance.
To Senator Reid, I supported the President's stimulus package in the hope that we would invest in NEW technologies for the future.
Any money spent on this train to Victorville is a total waste! We are fortunate to travel and we would NEVER use this!
Stuart & Robert Wyman-Cahall
Las Vegas, NV 89142
DesertXpress is in fact working with state and local governments in Southern California to immediately extend the system 50 miles west in Palmdale to interface with the North-South California High Speed Rail system - connecting Las Vegas to all of California. The system is also designed to facilitate extensions to Ontario and other destinations in the Los Angeles/Orange County Basin, as and when funding becomes available.
The current Maglev project is planned to extend from Las Vegas to Primm -- not Las Vegas to Anaheim. Maglev itself trademarked this as "the first 40 miles." The proprietary Maglev technology would not be easily extendable and could not be integrated with California's voter-approved high speed rail network and any other standard gauge high speed rail lines.
And there is only one application of the Maglev train technology in the world. It is a short 19-mile demonstration segment at Shanghai's Pudong Airport in China. Rather than extend this demonstration project, China chose to terminate utilization of Maglev and implement its own state of the art high speed rail network similar to what is being used in Europe and other parts of Asia.