Senate majority leader no longer aboard plan for maglev train to Vegas [Updated]

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader and an ardent supporter of high speed rail systems, said today he no longer favors construction of a maglev -- or magnetic levitation -- train between Anaheim and Las Vegas.

Instead, the Nevada Democrat said he now favors a conventional high speed train between Victorville and Las Vegas -- a privately funded venture that is farther along in the planning process and cheaper to build than the maglev proposal, which has been studied for almost three decades.

“I”ve been working on this for 30 years," Reid said. "We’ve gotten nowhere. Maglev projects have been abandoned around the world. It’s time to stop talking and start doing something.”

The proposed DesertXpress is a steel-wheeled train that would travel up to 150 mph along the heavily traveled I-15 corridor. It would provide an alternative to motorists who often drive more than six hours one way during weekends to reach Las Vegas from the Los Angeles area. The 183-mile system is estimated to cost $3.5 billion to $4 billion.

In contrast, the system proposed by the American Maglev Group, which would rely on government funding and bonds sold to investors, would run 270 miles and cost at least $12 billion to build. A first leg is planned for Las Vegas to Primm on the Nevada-California line.

Maglev technology uses magnetic force to propel trains on a cushion of air down a guideway at speeds of more than 300 mph.

Citing a recent Government Accountability Office study, Reid said he had lost confidence in the maglev project. [Corrected at 4:12 p.m., June 22: An earlier version of this post said the GAO report estimates the Las Vegas proposal could cost up to $40 billion. It does not. The report mentions that ridership projections and cost estimates can be uncertain for maglev projects in general.]

“Maglev is not a priority for me anymore,” Reid said. “We need to get people moving. The I-15 is not working.”

-- Dan Weikel

Photo: A prototype magnetically levitated train, or maglev, travels over a bridge at a test center in Tsuru in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, in late 1997. Credit: Kyodo News via Associated Press

Comments

[KinOfCain]

Yay! Now, spend another $2-4 billion of government money to build it to CAHSR system specs and drag the line to the CAHSR station in palmdale and you've got the ability to go from Irvine/LA/Bakersfield/Sacramento/San Francisco without switching trains.

[h]

It would be far far cheaper to offer 100% free bus rides to Vegas from LA--they'd accomplish the same thing for billions less. Natural gas powered buses, far less polluting than diesel, are readily available. Many people could be employed as bus drivers as well as being employed to build buses.

Spending billions of dollars on something like a fancy train to take people to gamble when children in our country are hungry and homeless is criminal.

[Adam Soto]

Can we please not build a train to service Nevada's casinos.

Lets build here in California. The roads. The casinos. Build our own tax base.

[greg]

This state should be crisscrossed with high-speed passenger rail! Unfortunately, it will never happen. Maybe back in the 50's, but not today. We used to believe in science and be proud of progress. Between the enviro-nuts and the NIMBYs we all get to be held back. Hooray!

[Mark]

I agree with KinOfCain

Lets gets an good train system from San Diego to the Bay area directly. This route is much more traveled. Reid's plan is a little self serving.

[Mark Kawakami]

It's about time! I never understood why the very practical idea of a train from SoCal to Vegas was always coupled with the very impractical burden of expensive science fiction. People want a cheap, faster alternative to driving, not an expensive, slower alternative to flying.

But why does it have to start in Victorville? Don't you want people to actually ride this thing?

[IVotedForThatOne]

So we should avoid the obvious HUGE benefit of getting people from LA and OC to Vegas and focus on the thousands of Millionaires who live in VICTORVILLE?!?!?!? Great call there senator. I have a feeling someone has gotten to you. Plus no Maglev? Why? don't like living in this century with Locomotive Tech?

Way to stand in the way of progress buddy.

[William Mark Clarke]

Sen. Reid has a problem. That problem is that he is a good ole boy here in Nevada. It’s unfortunate that he wants to do things small. The Mag Lev is the only way to go. He and I are the same political party and if I new people I would run against him. One of my planks would be getting the Mag Lev from Las Vegas to Los Angels proper.

[Simon, Fullerton, CA]

I think, either way, a high speed rail line should be built. People can travel to and from Las Vegas and California much faster and beat the traffic. This new proposal will at least be a start as part of a wider effort to expand the high-speed commuter rail system in this country. Our system has the most underused and the worst rail system in the world and we gotta change that.

One more thing about the high speed rail line, I think it would be more logical if the line terminated at one of the Metrolink and/or Amtrak stations in order to increase their ridership. I don't think Metrolink/Amtrak goes as far out as VIctorville but I'm sure either one or both rail agencies can make the necessary adjustments so that both meet somewhere and passengers will be able to directly transfer between trains.

[Warren]

Someone explain how this LA-Vegas Hi-greed...er...Hi-speed rail system is a benefit for California. 90+% of the traffic will be Californians heading to Vegas to gamble away their money. Aside from hotels and casinos what else does Vegas have to offer? Win-win for state of Nevada, Not So much for CA.

[Chris Robbins]

Conventional rail is more easily implemented and makes more sense, but it should run from LA Union Station to downtown Las Vegas, it should be administered by Amtrak, and we should start by normal intercity rail. Eventually, through track upgrades, it can be turned into a high-speed 'Desert Xpress' type of line, but it isn't fiscally responsible to just start out with a high-speed line when the infrastructure is already there to put a train from LA to Vegas using current service standards. Get the train running, then use the current and future stimuli to make it run at progressively faster speeds. Reid has the right idea but is putting the cart before the horse.

[KinOfCain]

@mark: well my comment was badly grammered. What I meant was build the line to vegas, let the private companies put in their $4b, and put in some taxpayer money to make the line a full 220mph HSR line that runs the same trainsets as the CAHSR line, and connect it to the Palmdale station of the CAHSR system. Which would allow you to take a train from Los Angeles to Vegas.

@Adam Soto: The reality is that Californians are already going to Vegas by plane, bus, and car. We could expand the 15, we could expand the airports, we could build HSR, or we could do nothing. I vote to build the rail, it's cheaper per passenger mile than roads or airports, and a no-build option runs counter to what people want to do. The government shouldn't judge people who want to go to vegas.

@ IVotedForThatOne: Stopping the line in Victorville would be a huge mistake, but building a maglev line to Anaheim is even worse. A steel-wheel line that connects to the CAHSR system would serve both southern and central CA, and for less money than the maglev.

@Chris Robbins: that's basically what they're planning, 150mph is not that much faster than what regular rail is capable of (about 110mph on normal routes) but our rail systems are limited to around 80mph due to politics and dilapitated systems. I think they should just build the whole thing to full 220mph spec.

[Tony]

I believe it would be a mistake to build the Desert Express. Not because it wouldn't provide needed benefit and an alternate mode of travel but because it's old technology and is not the looking to the future. The Maglev technology may be more expensive but is the only way to go. If the Obama administration would commit to investing in this technology and Americanize the whole process, think of all the benefits it would provide. A green, ultra modern, ultra fast, ultra efficient, low maintenance, environmentally friendly, and safe transportation system. Not to mention this would create lots of new jobs spaning decades and employing generations of Americans thus stimulating the economy in many areas. The United States of America deserves nothing less. If the Obama administration really wants to do something that makes a difference and promotes real change, the Maglev is the only way to go. Start with the Las Vegas to Anaheim section then build systems in different parts of the country where the greatest need is and eventually expand across the nation. A new Interstate system of transit that's American made and managed. A thought...don't build the proposed Ivanpah International Airport. Instead use the money it would take to build the airport and pledge it to the Las Vegas to Anaheim Maglev Project.

[Tom Turkey]

Harry's right in that it will definitely cost $40bn, but he's wrong to give up on the 300-350mph technology.

Unfortunately, people behind that DesertXpress thing don't get out much (their all old Vegas cronies) and while they believe their BS, they simply have no clue that the vast majority of people who drive as far as Ontario keep pushing and arrive in Vegas 3 hours later, despite the cheap air fair and the relatively new airport terminal there! Now you tell me how we're going to get those same people to go as far as Victorville (which means they climb up through the Cajon Pass) so they can be dragged through the desert on a train the rest of the way? How does crossing three 4000-6000 foot passes on the other side of Baker (rather than going around like the MagLev) make any sense either?

They say that Victorville is only "Temporary" and they'll eventually connect it to a future "Caltrain terminal" planned for Palmdale --but they are still in outer space. Nobody is going to go to Vegas by connecting around California on regular old trains (even if they are electric) that MAYBE can hit 150mph and are dangerous (good gust of wind or text-messaging operator and boom). Can you imagine dragging your luggage and trying to make layovers, etc..?

The mag-lev is run by computers, it's almost completely silent, it floats on air (so you can walk around rather than listen to your teeth rattle) and at 300mph with no connections, it takes under an hour to arrive. You have walk-on /off convenience that even Southwest with the $49+tax each way fair can't beat (due to airport parking/security inconveniences and advanced purchase requirements). Yeah $40bn is a huge amount of money, but 1: We need the jobs and 2: The $40bn is dwarfed by the total economic stimulation it will provide to both areas over 30 years --that's why we need to government (which is the only entity that cares about the Big Picture) to fund it and make it up through growth of the tax base from the increased economic activity rather than turn to a private bank loan that somehow is going to be paid off through direct ridership fees (and will wind up costing us all when it goes BK!)