It appears a transportation bill has just been signed for $45 million that will be used to study the idea of a high speed maglev (magnetic levitation) train travel from Disneyland to Las Vegas! This money will go towards studying the impact on the environment and the overall cost of such a project. If the plan goes forward, a trip to Disneyland from Las Vegas will only take 2 hours! I know when my family loads up the car to take our traditional trip to Disneyland, it takes a little over 4 hours and that’s if we bypass the rush hour traffic in and around Anaheim, California.
With the spike in gas prices, this would be a welcoming option to driving from Southern California to Las Vegas. This would also ease the traffic on Interstate 15 between Southern California and Las Vegas. If this project goes forward, I believe it would increase the amount of visitors to the Las Vegas Valley which would mean more money being spent in Las Vegas which is always good for our economy!
Let’s just hope they really give this project a chance.
rafael says
There is only a single maglev line in service anywhere in the world, between Shanghai and its airport at Pudong. The line is about 20 miles, Las Vegas to Disneyland would be 234 miles. Only a single vendor in Germany can offer a proven solution right now, they claim their technology can support up to 900 passengers per train – but that’s not been proven in commercial service. Does the state of Nevada want to be the world’s guinea pig?
If – big IF – California voters approve their high speed rail bond in November, perhaps the smartest move for Nevadans would be to consider a spur off the California system. This would be instead of maglev to Anaheim and the competing all-private diesel-based DesertXPress project to Victorville. Much of the environmental impact assessment work has already been done by DesertXPress and could be leveraged.
The California HSR project is all-electric and based on steel wheels technology with decades of excellent track record in Japan and France. Other countries, including Germany, Spain, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Korea, Taiwan and the PRC have all chosen similar technology. For reference, the California system calls for top speeds of ~220mph, which is what the latest generation of off-the-shelf equipment is certified for in regular operations. On a sufficiently straight non-stop spur through the desert, average speed could be as high as 200mph. Vendors include Alstom (France), Siemens (Germany), Hitachi (Japan) and Talgo (Spain). SNCF operates long bi-level trains between Paris and Lyon at 186mph, these offer 1000 seats each. Japan Ralways’ E4 MAX shinkansen are comparable. Eurostar’s extra-long single-level trains offer 766 seats each. The technology permits perfectly safe headways of as little as 5 minutes.
A spur off the California system would be a project funded by Nevada, the federal government and private investors. In that sense, it would be no different from the maglev project. However, the former would allow trains to run not just to Anaheim in around 2:20 hours, but also to San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego. There would also be economies of scale in purchasing and, Nevada could easily provide the required electricity from zero-emission solar thermal and hydro power plants. Finally, there would be no need to cross Cajon Pass or, to lay new tracks along LA’s Inland Empire – which cuts the cost roughly in half.
Instead, Nevada would piggyback on California’s efforts, including a station at Palmdale Airport. Given that ~30% of all flights movements at McCurran Airport are to California cities that would be served by its HSR system, this might well eliminate the need to spend $4+ billion on the proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport. Long distance travelers to Las Vegas could connect at Palmdale, much like United leverages SNCF’s TGV network for its flights into Paris, France. Perhaps it would even be possible to handle check-in and security on board the train on the outbound leg. With the price of oil high and likely to stay that way, Las Vegans should make sure visitors can spend their money on having a good time, not on transportation.
Of course, riding the train to Las Vegas could be made highly enjoyable in its own right. Already, TGVs in France and the Benelux offer broadband wireless internet and on-board video servers for movies. Top-notch meals and wines can be ordered in first class. Las Vegas-bound trains could top that with live entertainment for the adults (e.g. stand-up comedy) and a play area for kids. Gambling would almost certainly be prohibited while on California soil, but these days that’s hardly all the Jewel in the Desert has to offer.
The Las Vegas station could be located next to Mandalay Bay, on the other side of I-15. Its architectural inspiration could be e.g. the Moors in Spain or Rajasthan, with a garden and fountains on the roof level featuring al fresco restaurants serving Middle Eastern cuisine and entertainment late into the night. It should be a destination in its own right.