Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.
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Regarding the story in Friday’s Las Vegas Sun, “Flying with both feet on the ground”:
I have taken the Shanghai maglev and had the same reaction as the Sun reporter: very favorable. I also watched as the German government decided not to build its own home-developed train (Siemens) because of cost and environmental concerns.
The idea of a “train to nowhere” (Victorville) — the DesertXpress — is a nutty one (old technology, not the newest and proven one). The economics of maglev, in my opinion, are equal or superior to the economics of the DesertXpress. The rider volume with maglev would be much greater.
A true “investment” in maglev by the federal government would be for something new and real (as opposed to bank bailouts). The added benefit to Nevada would be in real estate as we would be within affordable commuting distance to Los Angeles.
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