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Andrew Mack, center, chief operating officer of DesertXpress Enterprises, talks to a reporter behind a model of a proposed Victorville station is displayed during a news conference for the DesertXpress high-speed rail project Thursday, March 25, 2010.
Thursday, March 25, 2010 | 6:03 p.m.
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Environmental approvals for the proposed $4 billion DesertXpress high-speed rail project between Las Vegas and Southern California are taking longer than expected, but executives with the project said Thursday they expect construction to begin this year.
"It's all just process and working through the details," DesertXpress Enterprises President Tom Stone said in a media briefing on the project. "No environmental showstoppers have been identified."
Last year, developers of the 185-mile rail line that would link Las Vegas with Victorville, Calif., said they hoped they would get final environmental approvals by the end of the first quarter of 2010 and that they would be able to break ground by summer. But Stone said the process is running three to four months behind what they had hoped, although they still expect a groundbreaking before the end of the year.
Construction is expected to take four years, meaning that revenue service for the train could begin by late 2014.
The project includes the construction of two parallel grade-level tracks across the Mohave Desert, mostly along the I-15 corridor and the accompanying electrical catenary.
Stone explained that five federal agencies are a part of the process that eventually would lead to the issuance of a Record of Decision that would give developers of DesertXpress the green light to begin construction.
The Federal Railroad Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is the lead agency on the adoption process. Cooperating agencies that are participating include the Federal Highway Administration (another Transportation Department agency), the Bureau of Land Management, the Surface Transportation Board (formerly the Interstate Commerce Commission) and the National Park Service.
The FHA is involved because much of the route is within the right-of-way of Interstate 15 while the BLM controls most of the other land through which the line would pass. The Park Service is involved because one of the alignment alternatives could pass through a small portion of the Mohave National Preserve in California, just south of the Nevada border.
The route between Las Vegas and Victorville includes several alignment alternatives and there are four potential sites for a station in Las Vegas and three in Victorville that must be resolved. Stone said the agencies need to determine which alternatives present the least environmental impact.
While the federal agencies work on the Record of Decision, DesertXpress Enterprises is narrowing the field to select its implementation team partner -- a process that began last August. The implementation team will be responsible for the final engineering, construction, operations and maintenance of the train system as well as participate as a financial partner for the project.
Stone said DesertXpress received 12 proposals from prospective partners. Executives cut the field to six and there are now three finalists. He did not identify what companies are in the running.
Architectural and engineering firms that have worked on the project so far include Korve
Engineering, EarthTech, AECom, EDAW, URS, Stantec and Marnell Consulting.
Private investors have paid for DesertXpress' costs to date and construction will be financed with private equity combined with long-term public- and private-sourced debt with the repayment coming from private sources. No taxpayer money has been used, although executives say they are considering federal loans.
Indirectly, stimulus funds appropriated to California's rail system could benefit DesertXpress if they are used in the High Desert Corridor highway project, which includes the development of the right-of-way to include the rail line. DesertXpress officials have agreed to provide technical support, engineering, right-of-way width documentation and noise-abatement specifications to California transportation planners.
When construction begins, Stone said he expects there would be multiple construction sites throughout the rail corridor at any one time. One of those sites would be a train station in Victorville. Three prospective sites are under consideration, all within close proximity of I-15.
A model of the Victorville station was unveiled at the briefing and Stone noted that it is being designed to allow trains to pass through the structure in anticipation of the line extending west to Palmdale, where it would connect with the proposed California high-speed rail line and a route between Sylmar and Bakersfield.
While work hasn't begun on the 50-mile line between Victorville and Palmdale, Stone said he has received assurances from transportation planners in Southern California that the link would be fast-tracked to enable a direct line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Because the California system and DesertXpress would be compatible, Stone said it would be possible for riders to board in Los Angeles and travel without changing trains all the way to Las Vegas. The trip would take between two and 2 1/2 hours, he said.
Ideally, Stone said, the environmental approvals would be completed as construction winds down on the Las Vegas-Victorville route so that workers could move to the next building phase.
But for now, the focus is on Victorville.
Andrew Mack, chief operating officer of DesertXpress Enterprises, stands behind a model of a proposed Victorville station during a news conference for the DesertXpress high-speed rail project Thursday, March 25, 2010.
The model of the Victorville train station includes a 15,000-space parking area, some of it surface parking and some of it within a parking garage. It's 1 1/2 times larger than Disneyland's parking lot.
Despite mountains of public criticism, Victorville was chosen as DesertXpress' southern terminus -- until the connection to the California line is completed -- because most Southern California highway traffic must pass through Victorville to get to Las Vegas.
DesertXpress Vice President Andrew Mack said the company is placing an emphasis on the Las Vegas experience starting in Victorville, so parking at the station would be free, just as it would be in Las Vegas, and passengers will be able to check their bags all the way through to their Las Vegas hotels at no additional cost.
Stone and Mack have not wavered from earlier estimates that the average ticket cost for a trip from Victorville to Las Vegas would be between $50 and $55. The executives stressed that the figure is an average and that during peak operational periods the price could be higher. There also will be higher-priced first-class seating on the trains.
"Basically, where we are is that the project has made great progress," Stone said. "We are close to conclusion of this entire environmental process and we are looking forward to getting started by the end of the year."
still LMAO @ Victorville
What a joke! Las Vegas to Victorville? Ok. So why would I take this rail to Victorville and then have to rent a car to get to LA? This ides is completely idiotic!
This is so fixed. Of course Rogich and Reid are in on this guaranteed flop. The reason they support these programs, even though everyone knows it will be a failure, is to get all the money from the government who will support and build the project. The monorail in Vegas is a perfect example. The top guys there make hundreds of thousands of dollars through government funding and subsidies. The government funds these projects and the people at the top make a ton of money during their stint. Rogich, Reid, et al, go to the bank with all the funding. They sell their souls for money strictly because they know how to work the system. They all scratch each other's backs. That's why Reid pulled his support from the other train to give it to this one, then tried justifying it earlier this week.
This is so freakin bogus, why do Vegas taking a step back with the desert express. Let's go with the Maglev, is faster and cleaner compare with the wheel train. @jke1717 is right, this is FIXED. I will never ride it, cause is cheaper to rent a car for four peoples to disneyland. WOW Victorville, how fun.
That sure is a great looking model they have and the EIS was very well done. Sure hope they didn't miss reading last year's HSR report out of Alberta, easier project much high cost. But hey, if they aren't using Tax Payer money more power to them.
Robert Pulliam
Tubular Rail
Houston TX
"Because the California system and DesertXpress would be compatible, Stone said it would be possible for riders to board in Los Angeles and travel without changing trains all the way to Las Vegas. The trip would take between two and 2 1/2 hours, he said."
This is the only possible reason why this train would be better than the maglev. If I could get on a train in Vegas, get off in Anaheim (without changing trains), go see a baseball or hockey game, and then come back to Vegas with few transportation hassles I'd do it.
The only other question is where is the LV terminal? For tourists to pick this over a car, the terminal needs to be close to the strip.
Maybe Reid was right on picking this one over the maglev. Uh oh, here come the threats from teabaggers!
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 eventually 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 opportunity 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 traveling between London to Paris we took the "chunnel" instead of flying because of the unique experience.
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
To all the idiots who think you go no further than victorville, read the whole article.
"It's all just process and working through the details," DesertXpress Enterprises President Tom Stone said in a media briefing on the project. "No environmental showstoppers have been identified."
This statement is so naive. "Just" process, as if process falls easily when politics is applied. Construction by the end of this year? Not hardly.
This idiot read the whole article.
The corridor between Anaheim and Las Vegas would better reflect the RESORT aspect of any project. I don't work and live in Los Angeles. I have no reason to use this train. I have friends and family who reside in the San Fernando Valley and they seem to feel this is little benefit to them....once on the road to Victorville en route to Las Vegas, would they really stop off, park their car, wait for a train at 55.00 bucks a pop to complete their journey?
All these so-called lines like the one in Sylmar are "proposed". Sorry, but it seems like this plan is a stretch with too many variables.
Anaheim to Las Vegas direct makes a lot more sense to this American Idiot.
Stuart & Robert Wyman-Caall
Las Vegas, NV 89142
From the Desert Xpress website:
Why Victorville?
Of course it would be great if DesertXpress could be extended to downtown Los Angeles, Anaheim and Ontario, and someday it might. But for this initial project, it is critical for the station to serve the Southern California market and be financeable without public tax dollars.
Victorville makes a lot of sense because it is the first major population center northeast of the Cajon Pass through the San Bernardino mountain range separating the High Desert from the Los Angeles basin. Victorville is within only a 30- to 45-minute drive for roughly 5 million people who live in the Inland Empire, Antelope Valley, and the eastern portions of Los Angeles County, and only a one to two hour's drive for most of the rest of the Southland's 21 million residents--many of whom routinely drive at least an hour to and from work each weekday.
Victorville also is the choke point of I-15, where the roadway narrows from from four through lanes to three in each direction. With the station in Victorville, DesertXpress avoids the uncertainty of the challenging 200-mile drive across the Mojave Desert that could take anywhere from 4 hours to 10 hours -- you never know, because of congestion and incidents or accidents.
WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stuart & Robert Wyman-Cahall
Las Vegas, NV 89142
Another Harry Reid back room deal. The Maglev is a much better project. It's cleaner and faster. 310mph vs 150. Direct service to Anaheim, service to the future Ivanpah valley airport. Good going Harry Reid. Lets do Nevada a favor and vote Back Room harry out of office.
As long as this is pravately funded I wish them good luck and I hope all goes well.
If it ends at Victorville I think it's a failure before they even start the project, if they can connect to Anaheim and the other California rail system it sounds like a huge success.
This train isn't designed with Las Vegans in mind. Some of the 20 million Southern Californians will be coaxed out of their cars at Victorville for the quicker ride to Vegas.
As for the 2 million people in Las Vegas, if you want to go to LA, drive or wait for the Palmdale connection.
PS - How many of you fly to Ontario when you go to LA? And yet it still has direct flights to Vegas...
Please READ whole article, goes all the way to LA not just Victorville, station stop at Victorville available.
They are dreaming if they think anybody is going to pay what amounts to $110 round trip from Vegas to Victorville. Where is the beef? no money saved, no time saved. Then to be left without a vehicle in this town. Come-on who's buying this bs?
Smells like the monorail project to me.
At this point it's better than what we have right now which is NOTHING...
very good news!
from la to lv in 2 hours!!
What happened to the maglev... please god don't allow this monumental failure to launch. Mag-Lev straight into LA from vegas is the only way.
this will end up as another poorly run quasi-governmental program,think "amtrack". that boondoggle has been siphoning off taxpayers money for years,and this time it's coming to a town near you.
Why would ANYONE go to Victorville by train??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
There is some massive hidden agenda here and it may work to the advantage of Vegas.....maybe a source of jobs for Vegas unemployed who are willing to travel to Victorville to work?
Reid!!
It would take 2.5 hours with the Desert Express compared to the 1.5 hour maglev.
So after reaching beautiful Victorville, you go sideways to the gang bang areas of Lancaster and Palmdale. Then you jump on the "proposed" high speed rail line to LA.
So if I wanted to go to Santa Anita, I would then jump on the Gold Line, and end up in Pasadena. Then I guess I would hire a cab to get me to the track in Arcadia. Wait a minute, if the high speed rail ends up at Union Station, I could take a dirty city bus to the track.
This might have been the only way in the year 1900. Sadly for Desert X, this is not the early 20th Century. Even if it was the 20th Century, it would be cheaper and easier to take the 'Hound down to LA, and a bus to the track.
I smell "boondoggle" here. This project will make the Monorail look like a success.
Don't forget about the 20,000 to 50,000 new jobs this will bring to Nevada when we need them the most - NOW! I don't know about you, but I can't wait to break out the pick-axe and shovel to start working again. Thank you Reid!
It's funny how a lot of you people are sour that you won't get your state of the art, shiny Mag-lev toy and then you yell "boondoogle" at something that isn't using your taxpayer money. Do you even know what "boondoogle" means?
If you ask me Mag-lev is the REAL "boondoogle" wich has not even started an EIR/EIS after 30 years. If it started one like it wanted to it would be another three to five years to finish it Vs. DesertXpress wich is ready to break ground Now, this year using proven Steel wheel steel rail, compatible with the California State HSR system at a fraction of the cost.
Maglev has a higher projected cost than $12B like so many claim. If it were $12Billion, don't you think that other systems around the world would have been built, they haven't, it tells you something. Mag-lev is an awesome tech but it will not get built here in the U.S anytime soon. Maybe in 50 years. The U.S needs to crawl before it can walk.
Note that the DesertXpress could and might up it's speed to 220mph after the FRA rules change or is granted by them for use on DX. 150mph is only their because the FRA doesn't have rules for trains running above that yet. California HSR was granted permission for 220mph speeds on their system after working with FRA. DesertXpress could have the same.
All in all this article resolves the issue of Victoryville being the end of DX. As far as I can tell, it's great news that they are looking ahead for the Palmdale connector.
Oh, swell. Let's make it easier to get here for those wackos from Califorinia.
I think the idea serves those coming to Vegas far better than those going to California. Until a no-change option is available straight to L.A. or Anaheim, it doesn't serve Las Vegans at all. Even then, paying taxis to drive around in L.A. is much more expensive than in Las Vegas since Vegas interests are centralized and traffic is relatively light (compared to L.A.).
I think the train should help ease congestion on our roads during weekends when a lot of Californians come to play in Vegas, but I'm still shocked that the DesertXpress plan won out over the Maglev project. In my mind, Maglev is a far better plan for the long-term benefit of both Las Vegas and Southern California.
I go to Anaehim at least once per year with my family, and I will not use the DesertXpress.
Here's what Maglev is http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/ar...
Read thru this and I think you might be able to detect why they are not going with Maglev. The issue is as old as the Red Cars and Interstate
highways.
This technology is tens times more efficient than automobiles and many more times more efficient than trucking and current trains. Once built it needs little attention for a good 50 years. Much of the power needed to run the thing could come from Wind and Solar.
The problem is we have a Capitalist Based centered around waste and scarcity. There is very little money for a profiteer in abundance, progress or efficiency. Maglev is too high of a cost to the profits of the few. It solves far too many issues for good which means profit opportunities dry-up.
If 200 of the currently unemployed Engineering Students were put to work on this project, it would be done pretty quickly.
That will not be done because the Banks, the Oil Companies, the Auto, the Trucking, and old Train Companies will not permit this Nation and Society to move forward.
The MAGLEV to Anaheim (269 miles) is being shopped at $12 billion which is 3 times the DESERTXPRESS price. Japan is budgeting $50 billion for a 180 mile maglev, which makes me think $12 billion is a serious underestimate. A MAGLEV to Anaheim with $400 round trip prices is no fun either.
Although DESERTXPRESS has massive drawbacks, it may be profitable. The technology is used in Sweden and China and is almost mundane. And yes it will be useless to Vegas residents and to families
No one with a brain is paying $55 a person to use this thing. You can get a Southwest Airline ticket for that price. A group of four people road-tripping in a car can do better on gas money than forking up $220 for a one-way ticket from Victorville to Vegas.
It IS the monorail all over again. Bad design with bad prices = BANKRUPTCY.
I'm all for DesertExpress OR Maglev. I don't care who wins the little political tug of war, but BUILD IT RIGHT. If you're gonna build this train, built it from Vegas to L.A./Anaheim and make the cost $120 ROUND TRIP per person or it ain't gonna succeed.
You'd think these developers with deep pockets could look around at the costs of travel provided by the airlines or buses and figure out they have to be competitive. $55 from Vegas to Victorville? Morons.
It's not worth building if the business model is going to fail three years after it opens.
"That will not be done because the Banks, the Oil Companies, the Auto, the Trucking, and old Train Companies will not permit this Nation and Society to move forward."
I agree. Too much old money gets threatened with new ideas. That's why I'm buying their stocks. I want in on the Good Ol' Boy Network. To hell with morals. Screw the future generations. I'm all in for the now and the ME ME ME!! Show me the money baby!
Well one thing is sure, if California votes to legalize 'pot' this year, there will be plenty of people in Nevada who'll want to take this trip so they can get some 'smokes'.
Then if Las Vegas legalizes pot, this will be the 'pot train' and everyone who indulges will be able to take a toke right up until they board the train. Obviously, if it's legal to smoke in BOTH states (pot), they can 'toke' en route - the 'happy train', and that's why this thing just might work after all.
If the prices of gasoline go up sky-high by 2014, then you can avoid the sky-high costs of gasoline, and be sky-high while speeding along - someone will surely write a song about that one.
When Harry Reid loses in November I guess he'll have a job offer waiting.
SMOKE DREAMS AND HIGH HOPES OF AN ANT.
So phase one goes to Victorville, then Phase two gets you to Palmdale and links you into the California HSR system. It all leans on phase 2. If phase 2 works then I think a ton of people will use it. Just going to victoville and stopping there? Not going to work. Linking to the larger Cali system that goes to downtown LA and San Fran? That can work.
Hey it's a start...BTW Palmdale already has 2 Metro blue line stations that connect to all LA
Why can't someone figure out a way to tie in McCarran,The Monorail and this Train so they can compliment each other..am I asking way too much here?
I really wanted the maglev as well, this is a fair bit different but is as mentioned 1/3rd of the proposed price. Will be useless to us in LV but will definitely bring in new visitors, hard to argue that. Its also going to create jobs, and is privately financed. Although 150MPH is not 330+MPH, clearly.
- Mark Szczygiel
I can see all the negative horn blowing the hardest are from the sounds from those who contributed to the economic downturn. The MAVLEV is for the dreamers, who were dreaming for the last 3 decades and DesertXpress is for the realists, who thinks that we need something now to improve the economy: Jobs, tourism, traffic congestion relief, real estate appreciation, etc - are the effects of implementing the plans NOW. We might end up bankrupt (if not already bankrupt) if we continue to dream about the MAVLEV like Gov. Gibbons.
I can see all the negative horns blowing the hardest are from the sounds from those who contributed to the economic downturn. The MAVLEV is for the dreamers, who were dreaming for the last 3 decades and DesertXpress is for the realists, who thinks that we need something now to improve the economy: Jobs, tourism, traffic congestion relief, real estate appreciation, etc - are the effects of implementing the plans NOW. We might end up bankrupt (if not already bankrupt) if we continue to dream about the MAVLEV like Gov. Gibbons.
I wonder why people don't do some research before calling this project "bogus". Victorville is a stop for metrolink and amtrak which travels all across Southern California. Amtrak stoped service to Vegas and the chances of getting it back are slim. This is the best solution.
The big casinos could "comp" gamblers with free or reduced train tickets depending on how much they play.
Don't stop with Los Angeles area (20 million base pop and growing)!
Go North to Salt Lake (3 million base population and growing) and East to Phoenix (4 million base population).
Regional train service could easily bring 5 million new visitors into Vegas each month and revive the economy!
People love trains if they are clean, safe, and ON TIME! The hassle at the airports will not go away. Time for a change.
If this project is truly funded with Private Funds...more power to them. They will create jobs, add infrastructure, and the risk of making money is up to them. In my opinion, they will have a tough time convincing California/Nevada travelers to utilize a train/car for the trip to Vegas. You could argue that if you currently do the plane/rental car route, that this is an alternative, but I don't agree. I make this trek twice per month and 2.5 hours versus the 1hour-45minutes it now takes (with a carry on you do not have to arrive at the airport more than 30-minutes before your flight), is a deal breaker for me. Time is money, so it would not be an alternative for me. Way too much work. But hey, it is their money, so let them take the risk. Now, if they ask for federal loans, then I think the taxpayer has to weigh in and look at the risk of our money!
I still don't get why this train goes to Victorville, then eventually to Palmdale.
The traffic to get to VV is so brutal coming out of LA, SB, or OC. All vehicles driving out of Southern CA to VV must take either the 15 or 215. The merge of the 15 and 215 into the 15 north is a grid locked choke point. To drive from Anaheim to VV on Friday at around 12:00pm can take easily 2-3 hours. Once it took me over two hours to go from Rancho Cucamonga to VV.
Can someone explain to me how this project will reduce traffic if you have to be in grid lock to get to the rail hub in VV?
Seriously, what is going here?
For all who "back" this plan because of the jobs they say will happen. Most say between 30,000 & 50,000. Let's split the difference and say this will "produce" 40,000 jobs. They say the cost will be $4 to $5 billion to build? At an avg salary & benefit number of $100,000 per employee that is $4 Billion in salary costs. How will they pay for materials, insurance, legal fees, public relations, stations, etc.
Please present your factual argument on the job side of things.
Reminds me of Yucca Mountain project. Get within a mile of finishing it and quit lol.
Bout FREIGHT if it matters. Don't let me intrude on your tourist and pot smoker chatter though. Stay lost in the traffic mind-f*ck they designed for you. As you chirp between each other over Palmdale history the crooks are lifting your wallets.
Magelv means low cost access to the ports of Long Beach and the World. Desert Express equals that will never happen. Simple read the information.
Losers would be trucking, railroads,
There's a lot of comments here that need clarification.
#1. We're talking about connecting to Loony Tunes Cali in Lancaster/Palmdale.
Do you really think a high speed rail system will be built in the next 10 years? Look, Jerry Brown, former governor Moonbeam, is running to replace the Governator. The voters in Cali are so far left, they spin in circles. Ever hear of the Cali Coastal Commission? It's the reason there are no desalinization plants there. Don't want to hurt the crabs and fishies...
2. There is no Blue line in Lancaster. It's a slow speed Metrolink line that takes 1-1/2 hours to cover a 45 minute drive to LA. Because of the 2,000 ft drop into LA. I rode it many times.
3. Add it up. 1-1/2 hours to Victorville. 1 hour to Lancaster. 1-1/2 hours to downtown LA. More than 4 hours. Plus God knows the connection waits between train lines.
4. The costs will go through the roof. Overpaid Union loafers building the system, and then overpaid Union loafers running the systems. We have the worst loafers-can you say firemen?-But Cali is right behind us.
This will be a complete waste of public money, and will rival the Monorail. Wake up, Nevada.
CONNECTING TO ANAHEIM: The DesertXpress WILL connect to Anaheim by connecting to the California High Speed Rail system. The first phase will extend 200 miles to Victorville to attract some of the 11 million people who drive passed Victorville every year on their way to Las Vegas. At Victorville, they will have a choice to hop on the train for an 80 minute ride to Las Vegas or risk the at best 3-hour drive or at-worst more if there is an accident. An extension to Palmdale will connect Las Vegas into the entire state of California - with the same steel wheel technology CA is planning to use. Maglev could never connect since it is a different technology. And you asked about parking -- the more apt question is where would people park in Anaheim where there is no room to build the parking spaces necessary for the thousands of cars that would be needed. There is plenty of room in Victorville.
STEEL WHEEL IS THE BEST TECHNOLOGY: Saying that steel wheel high speed rail is old technology is like saying a Ferrari is old technology because the car was first built at the turn of the century. The fact is that the Maglev technology is old, having first been introduced 40 years ago. And it has not improved since then. The system that's running in China is essentially the same as that 40 year old technology. High speed rail, on the other hand has evolved through decades of commercial applications and customer input that has improved ride quality, efficiency, and yes - speed. The steel wheel speed record of 332 MPH is only 3 MPH slower than the Maglev record of 335 MPH.
Patty: "CONNECTING TO ANAHEIM: The DesertXpress WILL connect to Anaheim by connecting to the California High Speed Rail system. The first phase will extend 200 miles to Victorville to attract some of the 11 million people who drive passed Victorville every year on their way to Las Vegas. At Victorville, they will have a choice to hop on the train for an 80 minute ride to Las Vegas or risk the at best 3-hour drive or at-worst more if there is an accident. An extension to Palmdale will connect Las Vegas into the entire state of California - with the same steel wheel technology CA is planning to use."
It will take well over an hour longer for the a commute from Vegas to Ontario or Anaheim via the DesertXpress.
"Maglev could never connect since it is a different technology."
You can still transfer at Ontario or Anaheim.
"And you asked about parking -- the more apt question is where would people park in Anaheim where there is no room to build the parking spaces necessary for the thousands of cars that would be needed. There is plenty of room in Victorville."
What about people coming FROM Vegas? And there is not concrete plan (along with the Palmdale extension) in the DesertXpress that will include the construction of enough parking spaces.
"STEEL WHEEL IS THE BEST TECHNOLOGY:"
Incorrect:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev_(tra...
-Efficiency: Due to the lack of physical contact between the track and the vehicle, maglev trains experience no rolling resistance, leaving only air resistance and electromagnetic drag, potentially improving power efficiency.
"The fact is that the Maglev technology is old, having first been introduced 40 years ago."
How is that relevant?
"The steel wheel speed record of 332 MPH is only 3 MPH slower than the Maglev record of 335 MPH."
Again, incorrect:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev_(tra...)
-The highest recorded speed of a Maglev train is 581 kilometres per hour (361 mph), achieved in Japan in 2003, 6 kilometres per hour (3.7 mph) faster than the conventional TGV speed record.
And you really believe that steel wheel-based HSR in California will EVER come even CLOSE to that speed, without (a costly) upgrading the planned system?
man! i was excited when i first saw this cuz i dont own a car and i would love to goto LA for a day if i could... but once i get to victorville, what to do what to do????