The quest to build a high-speed rail linking Southern California
and Las Vegas has received a significant boost with a federal
agency agreeing to sponsor an environmental study for the project.
The Federal Railroad Administration said that it will sponsor a
Program Environ- mental Impact Statement for the proposed route
that would link Anaheim and Las Vegas, and the project has received
$1.5 million in federal funding for the study. Construction on part
of the proposed magnetic-levitation, or maglev, train line could
start as early as next year, said Bruce Aguilera, chairman of the
California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission. The full system
could be operational by 2011, he said. The 300-mph proposed rail
line means a trip from Anaheim to Las Vegas would take only 86
minutes compared to about 5 hours by car. Bill Mahaffey, director
of transportation for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors
Authority, said he now gives the long-proposed project a “70/30
chance of becoming reality.” But proponents of the long-proposed
project still face significant hurdles. The commission and the
American Magline Group, the private arm of the public/private
partnership backing the long-proposed project, will need billions
of dollars in construction funding. “Money is the issue,” said
Aguilera. “It’s always the issue. Final numbers are not in, but I
would venture to guess that the whole project would be close to $9
billion.” The first segment to be constructed “The First Forty
Miles” would be from Las Vegas to Primm, on the California/Nevada
border. The commission and the American Magline Group hope to build
the line by working on two sections at the same time: Las Vegas to
Barstow, and Ontario to Anaheim. Aguilera contends that once
constructed, the Maglev rail “will pay for itself” with fares
covering operating costs. Aguilera said rail fares would be
comparable to those offered by low-fare air carriers on the route
such as Southwest Airlines. But the California-Nevada rail proposal
still will face significant competition from other locations also
seeking federal funding to build their own maglev syste
