Likewise, there were mentions that UP was going to build a second track in the desert. Was this on land that they already owned or was this on government land?

I am just curious about what different ways this could be achieved. For instance, could a private company still buy, lease or have the government grant enough land to put in a maglev train? Or maybe a train that runs on leased tracks to the desert then becomes a maglev train?

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Originally posted by ciaobox:
Hello, I stumbled onto your forum by accident

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Originally posted by ciaobox:
Hello, I stumbled onto your forum by accident and have been reading up on the Amtrak LA-Vegas debacle.

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By "debacle", what do you mean? Do you think the proposed service would be a debacle, or do you think the absence of service is a debacle?

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My question for the community is if an individual or company wanted to start their own rail-line from LA to Vegas, would it be possible to do it privately?

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Union Pacific owns the tracks in question. UP has absolutely no interest in getting back into the passenger business, nor are they likely to allow any private operator to set up scheduled service. Only Amtrak has the legal right of access to private railroad tracks, so Amtrak must be involved in some form. It will likely follow UP/State/Amtrak partnership model used very successfully in the other California rail corridors.

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Likewise, there were mentions that UP was going to build a second track in the desert. Was this on land that they already owned or was this on government land?

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I'm pretty sure that would be on existing UP right-of-way right alongside the existing track.

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...could a private company still buy, lease or have the government grant enough land to put in a maglev train? Or maybe a train that runs on leased tracks to the desert then becomes a maglev train

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As for a private company, see above. I don't know how much government land is available between LA and LV, but probably not enough to make a continuous corridor. That means buying land, which is an extremely expensive and time consuming process. Takes a decade or two to complete.

Furthermore, much of the federal land in that area is protected desert habitat (such as the Mojave national monument), so it is probably not available for transportation uses unless it closely followed the I-15 corridor.

As for maglev, it is an extremely expensive technology, and it hasn't proven to be economical or reliable in everyday use as of yet. Might not ever. Better to rely on well known and proven technology. This is not a time for expensive experiments.

Word is that the LA-LV train will use Amtrak Surfliner equipment. They wanted to use Talgos (like those used on the Cascades Corridor), but UP didn't like the idea of articulated trains running out there. If there was a problem with a car en route it couldn't easily be set aside and would gum up the whole works.

Perhaps some folks closer to that area know more.

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

The Del Monte Club Car

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Originally posted by ciaobox:
Likewise, there were mentions that UP was going to build a second track in the desert. Was this on land that they already owned or was this on government land?

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Random comments:

UP would build a second track parallel to its existing one, to enable passenger trains to "run around" slow freights. I believe it was to be built on Amtrak's or other federal funds, not with UP's own funds. It was held up for environmental reasons and other issues.

Even if they own the land UP would be required to evaluate the environmental impact of adding the new track.

As for LA to LV passenger trains, there is a market out there, as the California segment of I-15 is routinely congested around holidays (it is 2 lanes each way). Even with occasional dirt cheap air fares on Southwest Airlines the roads are still crowded.

I don't think there is any money to be made in common carrier passenger trains in the capitalist sense, otherwise they would already be in place elsewhere in the country. The Florida Fun Train did not last that long (even with all those tourists over there), the Marlboro Express was never even built (after they sunk millions of $ into it). The only profitable line is the ultra-luxury American Orient Express, with fares way above most folks' budgets.

Mag lev? Looks great in computer graphics, but I agree with Mr. Toy -- let's stick with the tried and true existing rail service and beef up the quality and efficiency.

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Originally posted by dilly:
...is there existing trackage that Amtrak could "theoretically" use to run trains northward or southward, from Vegas, to connect with the California Zephyr or Southwest Chief?

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Amtrak's Desert Wind used to do just that. I believe it ran from LA to Salt Lake via Las Vegas. It then attached itself to the CZ in Salt Lake City and went all the way to Chicago. It was a victim of the mid 1990s cuts. Perhaps they best thing would be to restore this service first.

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy