It wasn't until very very recently that I learned of this high-speed rail project being financed entirely by the private sector. This project began in 2002 and its Draft EIS report was approved in March by the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration). It's supposed to start construction in 2010 and operation will begin in 2014 if their time line is accurate, which it has been up to now and probably will keep on that track.
A little background on the DesertXpress, it's a high speed line starting in Victorville (no stops) all the way to Vegas, using steel on wheel tech (not using Maglev technology for what I assume monetary reaosons). It would take about 1 hr and 20 minutes to get to Vegas and I think their website says they will be charging about $50 each way...however don't quote me you can look at their website for more accurate info. www.desertxpress.com
Now, I wonder like so many other people....why Victorville? Why not wait for the Anaheim to Vegas high speed rail? The desertxpress makes a good case, they mention most people travel about an hour to two hours to get to work..I think its pretty accurate to assume that with traffic these days... However, people do not tend to travel to Vegas alone. At least the majority of the people travel with friends, and really one saves a lot of money when carpooling when a group of people, than stopping in Victorville to hop on the rail which will probably just end up taking as long to get to Vegas...
other issues..
The project is currently being financed solely by the private sector..but they're website mentions something about private-public partnership, which I think it's something we're going to be seeing more of with the economy being in such crisis (in my opinion a bigger crisis than the swine flu). Currently, they're having public comment periods in Victorville and Las Vegas..double check website on dates and encourage people to attend the meetings..
Lastly, I'm not sold on this project...I think they need to consider other locations. I just don't see how they're going to make any profit out of placing high speed rail in Victorville to Vegas without there being a connection to major metropolis areas???!
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I know it's ridiculous to think that one end of this rail will be stopping in Victorville, but I think that if anything California will finally have HSR at their disposable. It could create jobs (even if temporary) and spur the region to finally get on the transit bandwagon. Wishful thinking? Yes, but I always hope that good can come out of something
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm thinking is that a lot of the people in Victorville might benefit from transit if it was stopping there and heading back to Orange County. Many people commute from Victorville to LA or OC so it might negative in that it can possibly continue to exacerbate suburban sprawl..
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