Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Las Vegas Light Rail

  • A proposal to build an urban light rail or bus rapid transit system on Maryland Parkway between McCarran International Airport and downtown Las Vegas is moving forward. This image from the Regional Transportation Commission shows a version of the proposal that involves running light rail lines down both sides of the street.

    Q + A: RTC official outlines what’s next for Maryland Parkway

    April 16, 2018

    A possible light rail system on Maryland Parkway is coming closer to reality as officials prepare to release an environmental assessment of options for the heavily-trafficked corridor. Three options, including improved bus service, dedicated bus lanes and light rail, are part of the environmental review that officials expect to be made public in ...

  • A rendering of a proposed light rail system along Maryland Parkway.

    RTC: Maryland Parkway light rail good bet for fed funding

    December 16, 2017

    A proposed light rail system along Maryland Parkway would be a boon for the economy and a good bet for millions of dollars in federal funding, said Tina Quigley, general ...

  • A proposal to build an urban light rail or bus rapid transit system on Maryland Parkway between McCarran International Airport and downtown Las Vegas is moving forward. This image from the Regional Transportation Commission shows a version of the proposal that involves running light rail lines down both sides of the street.

    Vision of refreshed Maryland Parkway includes mass transit

    September 20, 2017

    The group working to reinvigorate the Maryland Parkway corridor recommends dividing it into four distinct districts, linked by a high-capacity transit system. The Maryland Parkway Coalition unveiled the districts at a community meeting Thursday at the Winchester Community Theater. Midtown Medical is located between Sahara Avenue and Desert Inn Road; Midtown Boulevard between Desert Inn and Flamingo Road; Midtown UNLV between Flamingo Road and Tropicana Avenue; and Midtown Gateway south of Tropicana. An 8.7-mile high-capacity transit system would link ...

  • A  Valley Metro Rail train is shown on the Arizona State University campus in Phoenix. Built at a cost of $1.4 billion, the light-rail system became operational in 2008 and since has been expanded from 20 miles to 26. As Phoenix proceeds with plans to add 40 miles to the system by 2034, officials in the Las Vegas Valley have begun discussing proposals to establish a light-rail system here.

    ‘At a crossroads,’ RTC launches meetings on future transit strategy

    July 27, 2017

    How residents and tourists will get around in the Las Vegas Valley for the next 20 years is the subject of the Regional Transportation Commission’s On Board initiative. In the first of several ...

  • A  Valley Metro Rail train is shown on the Arizona State University campus in Phoenix. Built at a cost of $1.4 billion, the light-rail system became operational in late 2008 and since has been expanded from 20 miles to 26. As Phoenix proceeds with plans to add 40 miles to the system by 2034, officials in the Las Vegas Valley have begun discussing proposals to establish a light-rail system here.

    Is light rail feasible for Las Vegas? Two experts debate the question

    May 31, 2016

    Former Nevada Regional Transportation Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury and Brookings Mountain West Co-Director Robert Lang agree that Las Vegas' transportation systems ...

  • This Wednesday, May 18, 2016 photo shows a test train at the new Metro Expo Line in Santa Monica, Calif. For the first time since the 1950s, a Southern California light rail line will extend to the Pacific. Starting Friday, May 20, 2016, with the opening of the 6.6-mile extension of the Expo Line, riders can now take Metro rail from the far-inland suburb of Azusa some 40 miles to the sands of Santa Monica. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

    L.A. area light rail now reaches 40 miles from distant suburbs to sea

    May 21, 2016

    Commuter light rail extended across metropolitan Los Angeles to the Pacific on Friday for the first time since ...

  • A  Valley Metro Rail train is shown on the Arizona State University campus in Phoenix. Built at a cost of $1.4 billion, the light-rail system became operational in 2008 and since has been expanded from 20 miles to 26. As Phoenix proceeds with plans to add 40 miles to the system by 2034, officials in the Las Vegas Valley have begun discussing proposals to establish a light-rail system here.

    Commission to kick light-rail conversations into high gear

    April 21, 2016

    Plans to bring light rail to Las Vegas are moving forward, at least for now. Proponents of the transit technology are pushing it as a way to better connect McCarran International Airport with the Strip and downtown Las Vegas. Officials have not yet resolved one of the proposal’s biggest uncertainties — how it would be funded — but they have started to make some progress on the general concept ...

  • A proposal to build an urban light rail or bus rapid transit system on Maryland Parkway between McCarran International Airport and downtown Las Vegas is moving forward. This image from the Regional Transportation Commission shows a version of the proposal that involves running light rail lines down both sides of the street.

    Making tracks: Light-rail proposal for Maryland Parkway is moving forward

    March 17, 2016

    Regardless of what happens with light rail on the Las Vegas Strip, plans that could produce a similar system on Maryland Parkway are moving full speed ahead. Officials seem inclined to support the light rail option, and they're not waiting to see whether ...

  • A view of travelers at the W light rail line at Union Station on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, in Denver.

    Las Vegas looks to Denver for transit example but faces unique challenges

    March 11, 2016

    When it comes to transportation development, Las Vegas and Denver have traveled down two very different tracks in recent decades. Southern Nevada can probably learn ...

  • Construction is underway at the Roosevelt Light Rail Station site Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in Seattle. Seattle's light rail currently runs through downtown Seattle to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The new stretch of rail lines will travel across Capitol Hill and to the University District carrying passengers through subway tunnels.

    How does Southern Nevada pay for a new mass transit system?

    January 18, 2016

    Building 1 mile of light rail costs from $25 million to more than $100 million, depending on whether it’s built above, at or below ground level. That means constructing a ...

  • Las Vegas Light Rail: The future of transportation in Southern Nevada?

    Las Vegas Light Rail: The future of transportation in Southern Nevada?

    January 18, 2016

    For Las Vegas, light rail would create new development opportunities and strengthen the heart of our economy by improving the Strip. Tourists like trains — just ask the operators of San Francisco’s cable cars or New Orleans’ streetcars — and light rail would make getting up and down Las Vegas Boulevard a convenient attraction for visitors, not a bumper-to-bumper buzzkill. Improving the visitor experience is crucial for our future. Remember, the days are long gone when Las Vegas tourists checked into a resort, headed straight to the casino and holed up for as long as their bankroll held out ...

  • How does a plan like this come to be? Who is responsible?

    January 18, 2016

    The push started more than three years ago, when Rossi Ralenkotter, president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, brought local tourism industry leaders together to talk about transportation issues. Ralenkotter made it clear from the outset the group needed to think beyond its own specific interests about how to keep Las Vegas globally competitive ...

  • Rail projects in other cities: How’d they do it?

    January 18, 2016

    Phoenix; Denver; San Diego; and Orlando, Fla., have provided blue prints Las Vegas can follow when it comes to building public mass transit systems. We examine their costs and the impact the systems have had on their cities.

  • Where I Stand: Light rail gets our future on the right track

    January 18, 2016

    Throughout our history, Las Vegas has always been ready, willing and able to step up and own the kind of future we envision. Our dreamers and our builders have always been able to capture the imaginations of our people to build the kind of city that, despite the setbacks of the 2008 crash, has made us a city to be envied and emulated.