Is Anything Happening on the High-Speed Rail Project from L.A. to L.V.?

I read on your website that a public transportation system will be built under the Las Vegas Convention Center with high-speed cars running through tunnels. Is the same thing as the high-speed rail line being built between Los Angeles and Las Vegas?

Sort of. But not really.

The high-speed rail line between L.A. and L.V. will, if it's built, run on an actual track: Xpress West is a private venture controlled by Fortress Investment Group, which owns the Brightline, the intercity service in Florida, and Virgin Rail Group. After many delays over the past 10-15 years, it was announced last year that construction would begin sometime this year, but we haven't heard anything since.

A second line between the two cities is also under way, but it's not what we would call a "rail" project. There's nary a railroad track or tie in sight on the super-bullet "train," which at an average speed of 500 miles an hour would take about 30 minutes from the City of Angels to the City of Sin.

Virgin Hyperloop One, as it's called, will be a radical departure from regular rail-based mass transportation. Instead, passengers and freight will be transported in wheel-less "pods" traveling through a vacuum tube — known as a hyperloop. The low pressure (near vacuum) allows the magnetically levitating pods to achieve speeds that approach 80% of breaking the sound barrier (770 mph). In addition, the minimal friction greatly reduces the power requirements, while the tube precludes any impact from otherwise adverse weather conditions.

Sound familiar? It might if you're up on Tesla's Elon Musk, who's been promoting the technology at every opportunity; plus, he opened up the source tech so that anyone can contribute to it. And the Virgin part of the name represents Sir Richard Branson’s involvement as a minority investor.

Virgin is the common denominator in both high-speed lines between L.A. and Las Vegas, though only Elon Musk's Boring Company is building the mile-long system under the Convention Center.

Virgin Hyperloop One, meanwhile, is only one of three companies currently in the planning stages of rolling out this transportation tech; it seems to be the furthest along, with a 1,640-foot-long 11-foot-high test tube (so to speak) in operation 35 miles from Las Vegas. In hundreds of test runs, an empty pod reportedly achieved a speed of 240 miles per hour.

At double that speed, the train would take around three minutes to accelerate and would have to travel six miles to make a 90-degree turn (of course, it would require only around 45 seconds to cover six miles). However, the motion will be so smooth that "a coffee cup won't even slide," according to one engineer working on the project.

When might you be able to be take Virgin Hyperloop One to Vegas? One projection claims it could be as soon as "the middle of the next decade"—sometime between 2024 and 2026, we assume.

Optimistic? Maybe. What do you guys think?

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Comments

Dave Apr-16-2019

Color???

What happened to the question part of the QoD? 

 Black on a purple background? Can’t read it…

Reeko Apr-16-2019

Background color

Didn't anyone look at the purple background before question was posted? Per previous comment...cant read

JimBeam Apr-16-2019

No!

Delays over the last 10-15 years? No. The delays over a LA-LV train have been going on for MUCH longer than that. It’s basically become a geo engineering unicorn - it will NEVER be done. Have you done the drive from LA to LV? The only thing you’ll find is a lack of infrastructure and A LOT of mountain passes. If there was a way I could bet against this opening by 2024 I’d wager every single penny I have.

Deke Castleman Apr-16-2019

Dave and Reeco

Thanks for alerting us. Easy fix.

Texas Transplant Apr-16-2019

NO WAY will it be ready by 2026

Agree with "Jim Beam" below, I'd love to make a bet on having this system by 2026.  California environmental studies, and the inevitable environmental law suits alone, could take until 2026.

This "projection" wasn't worth wasting the electrons that it took to put it on a computer screen.

Hobbs Apr-16-2019

 Give it time

 Yeah, Wilbur and Orville got the same type of input also.

Fumb Duck Apr-16-2019

Jerry Could Help

Maybe we could turn the project over to former governor of California Jerry Brown. He has much experience with his bullet train project from LA to SF.

Apr-16-2019

500 mph?

Even if they could make a maglev (or similar) train go 500 mph, I don't think they should.  The faster the train, the more dangerous the trip.  There's no need to get from L.A. to L.V. in 35 minutes.  A trip taking 70 minutes (at half the speed) would be quite fine.  Oh, and by the way, from what I've read down here in L.A., the route wouldn't be straight from L.A. to L.V., but rather would originate in downtown L.A., then go southeast to Orange County, then go east and then north through Riverside and San Bernardino before getting on the LA-to-LV pathway.  (This is to get maximum ridership.)  Also, the pathway is not all flat; there are some mountain ranges that need to be negotiated, so I wouldn't want to be going over them at 500 mph.  The train should be able to do variable speeds: faster on the flat stretches, slower on the winding inclines.  They need to really think everything through and do everything right in order for this to work.

Apr-16-2019

Jerry Brown's bullet train

Responding to "howkriv" and his comment about Jerry Brown, let me say that the two situations are entirely different.  Any kind of train requires building or laying some kind of track for every inch of the route, which is a long and expensive process, while air travel requires no such thing.  But after the system from L.A. to L.V. is built, it would be paid for mainly by gamblers & vacationers who want to get to Sin City, whereas the intra-state bullet train would be geared toward the business traveler.  The two mindsets are very different:  the former would care much less about how much they pay for the trip, so long as the total costs are less than flying.  Passengers on the intra-state bullet train would be an entirely different crowd.  I originally voted for the intra-state bullet train, but once the true projected costs became apparent, I'm now staunchly against it.  I fell that the money would be better spent helping out needy citizens.

Bill Apr-16-2019

They need investors

They will never, ever get private investors to sink the tens of billions necessary into that LA-to-Vegas high-speed rail line. Even Californians have given up on their bullet train fantasy that has turned into "the train to nowhere." Sir Richard Branson of Virgin may be an idealist but he's not a fool with his money, either. And the last thing we need is miles of unfinished rail line withering in the desert for decades should such a project run out of money before completion.

Question of the Day - 16 April 2019

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