The Palmdale Connection: Fast-tracking a California High-Speed Rail, DesertXpress Link-Up Makes Sense
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By Alan Kandel
Word is, the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board has unanimously agreed to apply for the high-speed rail stimulus money Florida Governor Rick Scott rejected - $2.43 billion in all. “The federal government recently announced that states can apply for Florida’s funding. Applications are due April 4,” Sacramento Business Journal. Staff writer Melanie Turner wrote. As I understand it, California HSR has $5.5 billion allocated to it already.
So, if awarded the entire $2.43 billion (it seems unlikely California will get it all), this would bring to $7.93 billion, the amount of stimulus money available to California HSR. Apparently, this is enough to construct not only the starter line between Merced and Bakersfield, but also trunk line track beyond those points, either towards Palmdale across or through the Tehachapi Mountains or from Chowchilla west toward San Jose via Los Banos and Gilroy.
Meanwhile, “Nevada Senator Harry Reid and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently publicly announced the Federal Railroad Administration's final environmental impact statement for the $6 billion high-speed DesertXpress project, which will connect Las Vegas to Southern California. The release of the statement represents a significant moment in President Obama's transportation initiative, making the construction of high-speed rail within the United States one step closer to breaking ground,” according to Reuters.
DesertXpress is receiving more and more attention these days due to irritating and frustrating traffic congestion that often plagues Interstate 15, and in particular the stretch between Vegas and the Southern California city of Victorville. The 200-mile line accommodating trains reaching speeds of 150 mph, if built, will once again bridge by passenger train these two cities. Start of DesertXpress line construction, incidentally, is projected for year’s end 2011. California HSR, on the other hand, isn‘t slated to begin construction until fall 2012.
Here’s the $64 million question: Considering Las Vegas wants and is dependent upon tourist dollars and Victorville and Palmdale aren‘t that far apart, why not instead build the DesertXpress to Palmdale, where a direct link-up between it and the California high-speed rail line could be facilitated? A strategic alliance between the two independent systems seems only natural.
Imagine boarding a 220 mph high-speed train in, say, Merced, in the Central Valley, journeying to Palmdale and, after arriving in this high-desert community, catching a DesertXpress train to the Vegas strip. What is now normally an 8-hour and quite possibly longer automobile trip, could be had in half that time or less. Not only this, but how about a future DesertXpress or high-speed train run from Vegas to Phoenix, Arizona or beyond? There is serious talk of this too. That way, the desert southwest would be high-speed-rail-connected. Accomplishing this would not only free up limited freeway space but emissions would be cut at the same time.
Getting this achieved and on a fast-track schedule will demonstrate sooner rather than later the efficacy of high-speed rail here in the U.S., that HSR is a viable mode (after all, millions, and perhaps billions of Europeans and Asians can’t be wrong) and that it has a future, and as well, has the potential to open doors for other such lines to additional destinations to get built and become operational that much faster.
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Alan Kandel is a concerned California resident advocating for new, improved and expanded freight (and passenger) rail service. He is a retired railroad signalman previously employed by the Union Pacific Railroad in Fremont, California.
What you're saying makes ABSOLUTE sense, Alan.
Unfortunately, the Palmdale extension isn't included in DesertXpress' Environmental Impact Statement Report (or EIS), with ZERO timetable for construction. The problem with DesertXpress is that, eerily like the Las Vegas Monorail system, it has so many "what ifs" involved. So much of it's success depends on the Palmdale extension, just like so much of the Monorail's success depended on the yet-to-be-built McCarran Airport extension.
Quite honestly, in the long-run, the Maglev is the better project. Yes, it's more expensive, and Maglev technology hasn't been "proven" in the United States. It's also broken up into phases like the DesertXpress. But unlike DesertXpress, it is all being done as one project, with one single EIS report for the whole line. This paperwork can be hard to obtain in California, and it took DesertXpress several years to obtain it's EIS report for the initial Las Vegas-Victorville segment. Who knows how long it would take for it to obtain an EIS report for the Palmdale extension.
Besides, if your going to end up having to lend DesertXpress federal money(and let's be honest, that is inevitable), you might as well take it a step further and throw in another $10 Billion for the Maglev instead.
Also, while Maglev technology isn't directly compatible with the California High Speed Rail system, it can still have transfer stations at ARTIC in Anaheim, and ONT Airport in Ontario. After all, if your willing to transfer from a possible Metrolink to CHSR in Victorville, why not take it a step further and be willing to transfer from Maglev to CHSR at ARTIC and ONT?
Thats not part of DesertXpress, thats part of the California HSR system which would link it up. So they are doing studies on it now.
First why are we considering tax payer money being used for the Desert Express? The only purpose of this is to make it easier for people in Southern California to support the Casino , Hotel and Entertainment venues in Las Vegas. Since it I for their business let them pay for this, not the tax payer, especially the Southern California tax payer.
As for the California High Speed Rail it needs to go directly from Santa Clarita to Bakersfield and NOT through Palmdale. This is a long and expensive detour for 1 stop for Palmdale developers and to try to make the Palmdale Airport work. The California HSR should not go to Palmdale.
Enjoyed reading your article. However, project developers need to be thinking in an even bigger, more integrated fashion.
The real boon to CAHSR ridership would be direct connectivity between Los Angeles and Las Vegas through the selection of compatible technology, enabling a "one-seat" ride via Palmdale.
The gap between Palmdale and Victorville is approximately 60 miles, so based on estimated travel speeds:
LA - Palmdale: 27 minutes
Stop time: 2 minutes
Palmdale - Victorville: 28 minutes
Stop time: 2 minutes
Victorville - Las Vegas: 82 minutes
Total trip time could be as low as 141 minutes, extremely competitive with air travel.
There would be cost-sharing advantages as well - joint maintenance of the Palmdale station, for example.
"why not instead build the DesertXpress to Palmdale, where a direct link-up between it and the California high-speed rail line could be facilitated?"
It will go to Palmdale, but the reason they will not connect there is because they will arrive there several decades apart. Desert Express will be built because it is economically possible (not profitable, necessarily, but it will not cost the moon to built it).
What no one is saying, is the reason it is being built to Palmdale is to connect with Metrolink for the next few decades, and Amtrak buses from Bakersfield. That is reality, not fantasy.
Jay Tulock, Vacaville
Desert Xpress and the MAGLEV project should both be constructed in unity. Wait a minute, why has no one proposed such an idea before? We all know the positives and negatives of both concepts, so for a minute let’s step outside the box of limited ideas. First we should establish the goal of both projects as providing an alternate form of transportation to what is already available, can provide something the other forms do not offer and can complement each other to mass effect.
Desert Xpress is going to utilize the aged and proven technology of fast (125-175mph) steel wheel train sets. MAGLEV is going to utilize a very young though already proven technology of rapid (175-225mph) propulsion magnetic levitation. Ok so one is faster big deal right? This is where new idea #1 comes into play. In one word AUTOTRAIN (do your homework and Google it). Desert Xpress as it is set up right now could be a huge leap forward in the concept. It’s used on the east coast by Amtrak and popularized in Europe to mass effect and in popular demand. Who can argue against loading up your car and taking it with you on a trip. Desert Xpress could take it one step ahead of these pre-existing services being the first in the world to do it with fast steel wheel train sets. So, drive out of Greater LA load up your car at the Victorville hub and get to Vegas with your own personal transportation. This idea augments the stale idea of utilizing personal transportation, bus or METROLINK to Palmdale to board the Desert Xpress in Victorville.
Great but what about the MAGLEV project? Now for Idea # 2, connecting the High Desert Community Corridor and creating the Hubs between two major cities of entertainment (Anaheim and Vegas). With its rapid speed and stops to communities in between the opportunity for prosperity is gained and augmented by more than just a highway. Employment in distant locations while getting to live in smaller communities and load balancing the unique types of entertainment that both Hubs offer can bring such a transportation force to mass effect. To date such technology has only been used to unify a city to its airport, so this approach would be another first in the world. While you obviously would get to your destination faster bringing your own personal transportation with you is not an option with this technology which brings in the third and final idea.
In two words Car Culture. There will still be those that wish to drive on the one highway that connects the two regions. Environmental studies are not taking into concept the idea of creating a transportation corridor between the highway driving, Desert Express and the MAGLEV projects currently. Why not combine all three transportation mediums of road, high speed rail track and MAGLEV guide ways into one unified and intelligently engineered corridor? All three using one corridor offers the ability to limit environmental impact, allow for localization of emergency service needs and offer the opportunity to create solar and wind power feedback for the transportation systems or the grid. Whoa, wait a forth idea? Ok, slow down now.
Bottom line, it’s not about mine is better than yours. When it comes to transportation we should unify and make each system stronger as a single concept, a UNIFYING IDEA of transportation in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA