Why building a train to Anaheim makes sense 
March 19, 2010 by Samuel Powers
Project would still be beneficial in absence of stimulus funds
The stimulus bill advocated by President Barack Obama and passed by Congress last year included a clause that appropriated money to states for the purpose of building high-speed trains.
The allotment was not an exceedingly large sum, especially considering an individual high-speed project’s cost, and could only be divvied out to a handful of states.
Recently, Nevada discovered that neither of its proposed high-speed trains received any money and the blame game ensued from Gov. Jim Gibbons to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Whosever fault it was doesn’t really matter at this point. All we can do is look forward and keep pushing for a high-speed rail connection to Southern California.
Currently, over one-third of the annual 38 million tourists that Las Vegas receives come from Southern California alone.
Having a high-speed connection to this simply makes sense: adding the extra convenience would only encourage tourist travel and make traveling to Vegas so quick that it could be repeated stress-free.
Obviously, in the economic depression that Las Vegas is in, building a novel connection directly to our largest tourist base would be a much-needed boost for our economy.
Not only would Las Vegas receive far more tourists because of the convenient route, but building such a rail connection would employ thousands of construction workers, many of whom are desperately looking for work right now in the valley.
Two such high-speed connection ideas to Southern California have taken over the debate.
First, there is the Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) train, which would travel at speeds over 300 miles per hour toward Anaheim and have various stops and stations along the way.
The Magnetic Levitation train would literally float above its track by the force of opposing magnets that allow it to travel at such speeds.
Traveling to Anaheim at 300 miles per hour would take just 86 minutes, nearly the time it would take to fly.
The other idea being pushed is the DesertXpress, a high-speed train that is connected to the track and can travel at speeds up to 150 miles per hour.
This plan, propounded by a private company, would instead connect Las Vegas to Victorville, about half the distance to Los Angeles or Anaheim.
Las Vegas didn’t receive federal dollars for the DesertXpress or the Maglev train, but the stimulus decision only intensified the debate between the two trains and drew more attention to the discussion.
When comparing the two trains, there are several important factors that the ultimate decision — if either ever happens — should be based on. Some of these include the cost of the train, the destinations of the train, the speed of the train and the potential that the train has for attracting customers and bringing tourists to Las Vegas.
The DesertXpress has been estimated to cost four billion dollars, a number dwarfed by the 12 billion dollar Maglev project.
Taking only price into account makes the DesertXpress very attractive.
A problem with the DesertXpress is that it only goes to Victorville, not the Los Angeles or Anaheim areas as the Maglev train does.
Victorville is not a very attractive city and many potential tourists from California would likely be discouraged to drive their cars all the way to the small city in order to ride a train.
When people supposedly would be forced to drive to Victorville in order to board the train, where would they leave their cars? I’m sure a simple solution like a parking garage could be confronted, but I have yet to hear any supporters of the DesertXpress take that point into consideration.
Also, if people have to drive down to Victorville, there isn’t much of an incentive to get on a train to go the rest of the way to Las Vegas. Why not just drive the rest of the way too?
Another fault of the DesertXpress is that at 150 miles per hour, it travels at only half the speed of the proposed Maglev train.
The technology of the DesertXpress is also not exactly new, as it utilizes the wheels-on-rail system that has existed for 150 years.
While 150 miles per hour does qualify it as “high-speed” for any form of ground transportation, the technology is simply obsolete compared to the Maglev.
All of these statistics lead to the last qualifying attribute for the trains, which is the potential to bring tourists to Las Vegas. While I’m sure that either train would bring people, a more densely populated area like Anaheim would probably attract more people than Victorville, which, to me, is still in the middle of the desert.
The Maglev’s 300 mile-per-hour technology, coupled with its fruitful location in Anaheim, would attract not only those who already intended on coming to Las Vegas, but also those who would want to ride the train simply for the novelty and experience of it.
To me, the Maglev just makes sense.
Neither project will fly until the proper funds are acquired, but I know that I won’t be taking the train to Victorville if it’s ever built. A levitation train sounds pretty fun though.
I agree with you I also would not ride the desert express. The other thing to consider is how many locals in Las Vegas would take the mag lev train to go to Disney land and knotts. Much more enjoyable for the kids than a 4 hour car drive. The one thing I really like about mag-lev is its in the air.No cars to get in the way and especially the desert wildlife will be safe. The 90k in jobs is very nice incentive too. Im sure Victorville is a nice place but I agree, take a car halfway…nope it will be a giant flop in my opinion. Mag -Lev from Vegas to Anaheim is win win for everyone.
[...] Why building a train to Anaheim makes sense : The Rebel Yell [...]
[...] Why building a train to Anaheim makes sense : The Rebel Yell [...]
It looks quite apparent that the DesertXpress is NOT breaking ground in March, as promised. And even if it connects to the CHSR system in Palmdale (which hasn’t been official), a commute from Vegas to Ontario airport and/or Anaheim using the DX would still be WELL over an hour longer than a trip using the Maglev.
And the “maglev isn’t compatible with steel-wheel technology” argument is futile, because people from the CHSR system can simply transfer to it. At Ontario, people on the main line (from San Diego to San Francisco) can transfer to the Maglev; OR, people on the Irvine Branch of the CHSR can transfer in Anaheim at the future ARTIC station.
Besides, the only thing supporting this “single seat” ride is the idea of a National HSR system, which simply won’t happen, because after a certain distance, the airplane takes over.
We need a high speed train for sure…and the fact that no country in the world has utilized Maglev which has been around for 35 years..except for a 19 mile demonstration project ..tells you something. The Chinese said recently that Maglev is too costly to build and too costly to maintain. So China , which is building more high speed trains than anyone in the world.. is using the same technology that Desert X Press offers.
Desert ExPress trains can run nearly as fast as the Maglev, but there is a safety standard in the United States that limits the speeds to 150 mph. Eventually they will be allowed to go faster but they must be up and operational for years before that can happen. Thats the law..for Desert Xpress or anyone. Another point, Victorville is only a connector to Palmdale..which has been voted on by Californians to be a major hub for all of California High Speed rail. That puts Desert Xpress in Anaheim and every other major city in California. In short, Maglev is a scam. That’s why there is no one even building Maglev anywehere in the world today. From every European country to China and beyond the most efficient technology is what Desert Xpress is proposing.
And in closing..remember that the Government Accounting Office (GAO) priced Maglev at between $99million and $200million per mile to build. That would put a price tag of about $42 billion to Anaheim..not the $12 billion Maglev claims.
Mr. Powers contribution to the Las Vegas rail debate makes several good points but rests on a false dilemma. The real choice is not between maglev and DesertXpress but between a transportation link that will connect with the future rail network of the western US or will be a stand-alone amusement park ride. Why not take advantage of the billions about to be spent on development and infrastructure of California High Speed Rail Authority? Nevada can just as easily build a system that can fit with the 220 mph rail network that will break ground in California in the next year or two. Would it have made sense for the old Union Pacific to have built a railroad of a different track gauge than the Southern Pacific? True, Las Vegas can have a system where passengers lug their bags and families to transfer from one train to another somewhere in the desert half way between the two cities. But why? Why not build the link using the same tried and true European or Japanese technology and standards as the CHSRA will use. California will already have paid for engineering and development and will have established production and maintenance facilities that will be looking for additional contracts and connections to lower its fixed costs. What would be better than a future of no change of trains service direct from San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and the central valley, the San Francisco bay area and, yes, Anaheim to Las Vegas. And, perhaps a few years hence, from Vancouver, Seattle and Portland too. All that needs to be done is for Nevada to build now to the same standards as the California system.
People don’t understand the point of the Desert Xpress like ending in Victorville. Las Vegas to Victorville is only the beginning, the final plan is to tie the system in with California High Speed Rail to allow through trips from San Francisco, Sacramento, Anaheim, LA and all other stops on the system to Las Vegas. Now as far as Maglev goes, it is very new and finicky technology, not to mention it is extremely expensive to build and maintain. Another downside is the fact that it is simply incompatible with anything else. Desert Xpress could easily be linked into a nationwide rail network. Maglev has only been tested to 361mph, standard high-speed rail technology has been tested to 357mph, so as far as I am concerned they are equal in speed capability. Maglev has proved to be impossible to run in a commercial service, no lines have been built aside from test tracks and one small line in Shanghai China. The line in China is prohibitively expensive to keep running, it would take huge fares to keep it running if it weren’t supported by the airport and city,
Basically this is an issue of using technology that has been perfected over a 200yr period, or use something new that is not well understood, expensive and incompatible with everything else
I agree 100% with the last three comments. DesertXpress is the way to go. Maglev is too risky.
Maglev was a very expensive installation in China. The technology that was used there is now obsolete. The German manufacturer used permanent magnets with a 3/8 inch clearance. With critical tolerences that small the guideway must be very smooth. and had to be carefully constructed.
Second generation Maglev has been developed by Drs. Danby and Powell, who first patented Maglev in 1966. They went back and looked at the shortcomings and invented the Quaropole Superconducting magnets that suspend the Maglev vehicle at 4 1/2 to 6 inches above the guideway. This allows for all weather operation and electronic high speed switching. Neither the German or the Japanese models can do either. The net result is a system that is less
expensive to build than wheel and track HSR, and much less costly than first generation Maglev.
The cost of the shanghai ling to the airport was expensive (not as much as stated by Mr Harden) but it was in excess of $60 million per mile. 2nd generation Maglev would be about $22 million per mile and is an American product. Lastly, to frame the question of what is best for America we should know the track and wheel High Speed Rail would be about $30 million/mile and maintenance is high.
It appears to me that using the latest Magev design is less costly, has low maintenance, is the best product, is American and, will put Americans to work. see http://www.magneticglide.com
CONNECTING TO ANAHEIM: The DesertXpress WILL connect to Anaheim by connecting to the California High Speed Rail system. The first phase will extend 200 miles to Victorville to attract some of the 11 million people who drive passed Victorville every year on their way to Las Vegas. At Victorville, they will have a choice to hop on the train for an 80 minute ride to Las Vegas or risk the at best 3-hour drive or at-worst more if there is an accident. An extension to Palmdale will connect Las Vegas into the entire state of California – with the same steel wheel technology CA is planning to use. Maglev could never connect since it is a different technology. And you asked about parking – the more apt question is where would people park in Anaheim where there is no room to build the parking spaces necessary for the thousands of cars that would be needed. There is plenty of room in Victorville.
STEEL WHEEL IS THE BEST TECHNOLOGY: Saying that steel wheel high speed rail is old technology is like saying a Ferrari is old technology because the car was first built at the turn of the century. The fact is that the Maglev technology is old, having first been introduced 40 years ago. And it has not improved since then. The system that’s running in China is essentially the same as that 40 year old technology. High speed rail, on the other hand has evolved through decades of commercial applications and customer input that has improved ride quality, efficiency, and yes – speed. The steel wheel speed record of 332 MPH is only 3 MPH slower than the Maglev record of 335 MPH. But remember, that’s only in tests. The Maglev running in China operates at an average speed of 187 MPH – that is the same as the TGV high speed train and less than the Chinese high speed steel wheel trains that run 220 MPH. The reason DesertXpress will operate initially at 150MPH is because US safety regulations don’t exist beyond 150 MPH. Once they do, new trains could be put on the tracks to go faster. And there are no existing US safety standards for Maglev which could take years to develop. Consider that all of the 11 high speed rail corridors in the US are planning steel wheel on rail and that the countries of Japan, China, Germany, France, Italy, Spain are all running and building steel wheel on rail high speed systems – why? Because it just makes sense. It makes sense here too.