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L.A. to Vegas High-Speed Rail Project Gains Steam

A high-speed rail link from Los Angeles to Las Vegas would shorten what is currently more than a four-hour drive into an 80-minute trip.

A high-speed rail link connecting Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 80 minutes is finally on track. Julie Makinen and Dan Weikel report for the Los Angeles Times that a partnership between XpressWest and China Railway International USA is expected to provide a major boost. On weekends, the trip of 230 miles (370 kilometers) can take more than four hours by car due to heavy congestion.
China Railway has committed an initial US$100 million in funding, the article says. The involvement of China is critical because it has considerable expertise with high-speed rail links. “China has built the most extensive high-speed railway network in the world with about 10,000 miles of track,” Makinen and Weikel write. With that system largely complete, Chinese companies are seeking new markets.

A high-speed rail connection between the two cities could have important environmental and traffic impacts, the Times notes. Running along a major highway corridor, the trains would eliminate an estimated 3 million car trips a year. The electric trains would travel at speeds topping 150 mph (240 km/h), according to XpressWest. Construction of the rail line could begin as early as September 2016.

More details about the announcement here.


Read the full story here.
This article originally appeared at Citiscope, a nonprofit news outlet that covers innovations in cities around the world. More at Citiscope.org.