Courtesy of XpressWest
An artist’s rendering of a train on the XpressWest high-speed rail line.
Tuesday, July 21, 2020 | 4:33 p.m.
An ambitious plan for a high-speed passenger train from Las Vegas to Southern California moved another step closer to reality today following a vote by Clark County commissioners.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve findings by the Nevada Department of Business and Industry related to financing for the proposed $5 billion rail line from Las Vegas to Victorville, Calif., a distance of about 190 miles.
Last year, Virgin Trains USA applied to sell $200 million worth of tax-exempt private activity bonds through the state, money that would go toward the project. Virgin Trains is doing business for the project as XpressWest.
The state’s involvement in issuing the bonds would be only as a pass-through and it wouldn’t be obligated to step in if revenues from the project are not sufficient to cover bond payments, a Department of Business and Industry official said.
The four-person Nevada State Board of Finance could take action on the issuance of the bonds as soon as Friday during a scheduled remote meeting.
“We have been working to achieve high-speed rail between Clark County and Southern California for decades,” said Michael Naft, a Clark County commissioner. “Today’s approval marks a significant milestone in that long process. This project does not use one penny of taxpayer money, has a track record of success and will put 30,000 men and women to work in a time when we need jobs and economic investment.”
Naft said the train could remove as many as 3 million vehicles a year from Nevada roads.
Southern Californians who drive to Las Vegas are often stuck on Interstate 15 in heavy traffic for hours headed home, Naft said. “We don’t want to leave them with that sour taste in their mouth. We want to do everything possible to increase capacity,” he said.
Virgin Trains officials have said a trip from Las Vegas to Victorville by rail would probably take about 75 minutes. Assuming no traffic delays, driving from Las Vegas to Victorville takes about three hours.
Virgin Trains has similar rail projects in Florida.
“Today represents another significant milestone in our mission to reinvent train travel in America and we appreciate the commitment of Clark County officials and their staff,” Ben Porritt, a spokesman for XpressWest, said in a statement.
“Our project to connect Las Vegas and Southern California will establish a critical transportation network and will bring with it over $2 billion in economic impact for Clark County at a time when Nevada’s economy is looking to rebound,” he said.
Earlier this year, California officials approved the allocation of bonds for the project. The U.S. Department of Transportation also approved $1 billion in private bonds to pay for the rail line.
