XpressWest has secured most of the state and federal approvals needed to develop a 185-mile route for electric trains to travel at speeds up to 150 miles an hour between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif., a high-desert city on the outskirts of the Los Angeles metro area.
Getting to Victorville is one thing. But until someone figures out how to traverse Cajon Pass† in a high speed train, it's just not going to work.
Even at 150MPH, the journey will take longer than a plane. And why would I want to change trains between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, when I can fly direct in an hour? Las Vegas is compact enough that the traditional train advantage of terminating at the city center doesn't help, since that's where the airport is, too.
Until the train is one hop from Vegas to downtown LA, it's DOA.
Getting to Victorville is one thing. But until someone figures out how to traverse Cajon Pass† in a high speed train, it's just not going to work.
Even at 150MPH, the journey will take longer than a plane. And why would I want to change trains between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, when I can fly direct in an hour? Las Vegas is compact enough that the traditional train advantage of terminating at the city center doesn't help, since that's where the airport is, too.
Until the train is one hop from Vegas to downtown LA, it's DOA.
†https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajon_Pass