The Vegas LA Fast Train is back on table

[zengrifter]

​

TRANSPORTATION:
Governors agree to back fast train​

Trip between Vegas, Anaheim, Calif., could take only 86 minutes​

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE​

Plans for maglev train like the one being tested in Japan in 2003 to give travelers between Las Vegas and
Southern California another alternative to Interstate 15 may get a boost from a the economic stimulus plan.​

By (Dead link: http://www.blackjackinfo.com/staff/david-schwartz/) _David McGrath Schwartz_
Mon, Dec 22, 2008 (2 a.m.)​

For over 20 years, boosters have dreamed of and lobbied for a train that could travel from Southern California to Las Vegas at 300 mph.​

The proposed magnetic levitation train line linking Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif. — attacked by critics as a multi-billion dollar pipe dream — has gained new life.​

Near the bottom of a news release detailing Gov. Jim Gibbons’ meeting last month with President-elect Barack Obama was the announcement that Gibbons and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had agreed to move ahead with the high-speed train project.​

“Arnold and I agreed to jointly work together on the project,” said Gibbons, who is planning to travel to Sacramento to talk with Schwarzenegger about it.​

The train, Gibbons argues, should be a candidate for federal economic stimulus money.​

MORE- http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/dec/22/governors-agree-back-fast-train/

 

[glovesetc]

just what we need

a faster way to get to Vegas to lose huh ? Somehow i do not see the merits in this fast train serving such a limited area . I could see a fast train from LA to NYC and maybe a fast train from Boston to Miamibut to spend so much on a limited market ? Makes no sense to me for sure .


:grin::laugh::cool2:

 

[shadroch]

a faster way to get to Vegas to lose huh ? Somehow i do not see the merits in this fast train serving such a limited area . I could see a fast train from LA to NYC and maybe a fast train from Boston to Miamibut to spend so much on a limited market ? Makes no sense to me for sure .


:grin::laugh::cool2:

A journey of a thousand miles starts with but a single step.
We got to start somwhere. this is as good as any.

 

[glovesetc]

A journey of a thousand miles starts with but a single step.
We got to start somwhere. this is as good as any.

how true . An old chinese proverb that is very true . The country as a whole needs a total overhaul of its mass transportation system is called for . Somehow I doubt Cailifornia is in a stable enough financial situation though. Maybe the federal government will step up to the plate . What is few more trillion in debt going to hurt anyhow .


:grin::laugh::cool2:

 

[shadroch]

When I wonder about California being stable enough, its not their finances I worry about.

 

[glovesetc]

When I wonder about California being stable enough, its not their finances I worry about.

perhaps in that way as well . California is a very leftist leaning state it seems . I have never had much of a desire to visit Calif or live there although I was there a couple of times on business for several days . Did not overly impress me although the high cost of living I thought was funny comparitively speaking to other areas in the country. Then again NYV , Boston , Chicago , and Miami are high as well . Just depends on where you like to live I would assume .


:grin::laugh::cool2:

 

[Brutus]

A journey of a thousand miles starts with but a single step.
We got to start somwhere. this is as good as any.

on the surface I completely agree. construction costs associated with making vegas the first stop could be out of line.

hwy 40 might make a good place for a coast to coast train to start.
http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-040.html

Interstate 40 is a major east-west freeway, spanning eight states on its cross-country voyage. Starting in Barstow, California, the freeway generally follows the Historic U.S. 66 alignment across the Mojave Desert into the high desert around Flagstaff, south of the Grand Canyon.​

p.s. the 15 connecting to the 70 might be a winner. that would go straight to vegas up and toward Denver, across the prarie to pittsburgh

​

 

[Automatic Monkey]

how true . An old chinese proverb that is very true . The country as a whole needs a total overhaul of its mass transportation system is called for . Somehow I doubt Cailifornia is in a stable enough financial situation though. Maybe the federal government will step up to the plate . What is few more trillion in debt going to hurt anyhow .


:grin::laugh::cool2:

Not really, for Americans on the average do not like mass transportation. It forces you to be on the schedule of a bureaucracy rather than your own schedule. Look at the pain in the ass flying has become, would you want every trip you take to be like that? And public works projects have a tendency to be mismanaged to the point of uselessness e.g. LV monorail.

We are, supposedly, getting an express train from NYC to AC starting in February and that is a good application for mass transit that I'm looking forward to, because the drive as it is couldn't be much worse. But the drive from LV to the California coast I find pleasant.

 

[Doofus]

Monkey is right. If you want to see how that MagLev boondoggle will work, look no further than the Monorail. The same brilliant minds that spent $500 million on the monorail (or whatever it cost) now want to spend 100 times that amount on the LA-LV train.

This country is spending its way into being nothing more than a Banana Republic. If people don't think we can end up like Argentina, they're not paying attention.

 

[21forme]

We are, supposedly, getting an express train from NYC to AC starting in February and that is a good application for mass transit that I'm looking forward to, because the drive as it is couldn't be much worse. But the drive from LV to the California coast I find pleasant.

Express, yes. Direct, no. The tracks along the Joisey shore end ~30 miles north of AC. From what I read, it looks like the train is going to follow the northeast corridor line from Penn Station to Trenton, then the river line to Camden, then the AC line.

 

[Sandy Eggo]

Hey, Californians finally voted for the high speed rail initiative to start up in the SF-Bay Area this past election. It's not a perfect commuter solution, but it will get legs started that will allow for connections to be built into a LA-SFO-SAC route.

Yes, baby steps can be stumbling steps...but they are forward moving!!!!:grin:

 

[blackjack avenger]

Train Beats Traffic Jam

The train from LA to Vegas should work provided:
1. It competes with the cost of driving.
2. It takes substanitally less time.

The real cost of driving to Vegas is about $100 to $150 one way.
The time to drive to Vegas is 4.5 to 6 hrs.?

The train should be able to beat these numbers. Especially considering once the train is completed gas prices will probably be higher and the economy will hopefully have come back. There would need to be an expanded bus system going from the train station to the casinos. I think to depend on the expensive taxis would be a mistake.

The train would draw more people. Probably some in cali won't go to Vegas unless they have a long weekend due to the length of the drive. The train would bring in many for just a 2 day weekend.

Flying is so cheap that a train across the nation probably could not compete time and cost wise.

 

[Sandy Eggo]

The train from LA to Vegas should work provided:
1. It competes with the cost of driving.
2. It takes substanitally less time.

The real cost of driving to Vegas is about $100 to $150 one way.
The time to drive to Vegas is 4.5 to 6 hrs.?

Actually, it's $100-150/RT. Drive time O/W is correct, if and only if there is no accident or bad weather between Barstow and Primm. One or the other, and you can back-up 7 miles in less than 30 minutes on a moderate weekend morning (Christmas at noon for example) and by the time it's cleared, it's hosed for the rest of the afternoon.

The train should be able to beat these numbers. Especially considering once the train is completed gas prices will probably be higher and the economy will hopefully have come back.

You can do a R/T train ticket for about $40 would be my guess. I bet the Strip Casinos would buy subsidies in a heartbeat.

There would need to be an expanded bus system going from the train station to the casinos. I think to depend on the expensive taxis would be a mistake.

Expand the monorail. Don't put more buses on the ground unless you are doing Summerlin or outlying areas. Get into the higher efficency transportation methods so that it makes sense. In fact they should tie-in to the airport area with the monorail and the HSR.

The train would draw more people. Probably some in cali won't go to Vegas unless they have a long weekend due to the length of the drive. The train would bring in many for just a 2 day weekend.

Time it right, I can go mid-week and be home in time for work the next day.

Flying is so cheap that a train across the nation probably could not compete time and cost wise.

Yes it could. Comfort is a HUGE deal for a lot of people. the War on Tourism Terroism doesn't impact Rail like it does flying (harder to crash a train into a Skyscraper). If we could get the Nozomis here, you are talking a serious threat to flying. The 777s would have to be replaced with Sub-Orbitals, and that's only effective for flights between JFK and London or London-Johannasberg or similar 10hr+ hauls.

This has been a long-debated topic with many transportation-geeks in the Sci-Fi convention running community that I'm also a part of for the last 17+ years. So, I'll vote for any stumbling step forward for HSR that will simplify transportation for "middle distance trips".

 

[blackjack avenger]

Real Cost of Driving

The IRS puts car business expense (car depriciation, gas, insurance, maintenance etc.) at about fifty cents a mile. I believe this figure was before the big gas price increase which will more then likely happen again, when you think of driving someplace the cost is more then just gas.

When someone has asked on the boards if they should turn pro I have asked if their car is under 10g miles or over 100g miles because car expense is higher then people think and can probably make or break an underfinanced starting pro.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

Express, yes. Direct, no. The tracks along the Joisey shore end ~30 miles north of AC. From what I read, it looks like the train is going to follow the northeast corridor line from Penn Station to Trenton, then the river line to Camden, then the AC line.

Ugh, you're kidding! I was under the impression that this was taking so long because they were resurrecting some old freight tracks that did run further south.

I'm surprised no entrepreneur is running bus or van service from the end of the Jersey Shore Line 30 miles to AC. That would be totally tolerable.

 

[21forme]

I was close, but not exactly right. From Trenton, the train will go through Phila, not Camden:

 

[Automatic Monkey]

That's lame. They say it will take 2.5 hours too, kind of like the bus does, but more expensive. Oh well.

 

[Doofus]

That's lame. They say it will take 2.5 hours too, kind of like the bus does, but more expensive. Oh well.

Your government at work!

 

[shadroch]

That's lame. They say it will take 2.5 hours too, kind of like the bus does, but more expensive. Oh well.

On a summer Sunday afternoon, that 2.5 hour bus ride usually doubles.
If you leave NY on Friday afternoon at rush hour and return Sunday evening, you'll save several hours on the train.
Until you factor in the time and trouble of getting to and from the train station.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

On a summer Sunday afternoon, that 2.5 hour bus ride usually doubles.
If you leave NY on Friday afternoon at rush hour and return Sunday evening, you'll save several hours on the train.
Until you factor in the time and trouble of getting to and from the train station.

Good points. I'm coming from CT so if I miss the last bus/train north I'm sleeping in the station. Probably the best way would be Metro-North to GCT, taxi/walk to Penn.