Thanks to a bit of last-minute perfidy by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), it looks as though Nevadans — and, mark my words, taxpayers — will eventually be stuck with Sig Rogich‘s Choo-Choo to Nowhere, the train that boards in Vegas and dumps you in … Victorville. The list of competing proposals has now swelled to four, the latest entrant being Desert Lightning, a project that’s long on ideas but short on dollars.
The basic concept is for a dedicated, Y-shaped line that begins (or terminates, if you prefer) in Los Angeles. Near the intersection of the California, Nevada and Arizona borders, a spur line would branch northward to Las Vegas, while the main route would continue into Phoenix. Unfortunately for Desert Lightning, it needs several million dollars in federal seed money and the timing could not be worse. Both the Z- and X-Train proposals have the theoretical advantage of using preexisting infrastructure and conventional trains … but the X-Train’s viability appears to have been predicated upon onboard gambling (an idea now quashed) and Union Pacific has given neither project priority status on its tracks — an absolute must-have. Desert Lightning’s is the most intriguing concept presented to date but its seems it would take a miracle to finance it. Thus we’re liable to get stuck with Sig’s white elephant … and Victorville’s not particularly nice this time of year.
There are far too few Jetsons references in today’s world. Nice going David.