(LAS VEGAS) 賭城高鐵, 通到鳳凰城 (PHOENIX, ARIZONA) ????

賭城高鐵 通到鳳凰城？

記者馮鳴台拉斯維加斯報導 世界新聞網 北美華人社區新聞

June 09, 2010 12:00 AM | 829 次 | 0 | 6 | |

洛杉磯通拉斯維加斯的鐵路載客計畫又有一家新競爭者，名叫「沙漠閃電」（Desert Lighting）快車計畫中把亞利桑納州鳳凰城也連接上。

目前公開宣布要在洛杉磯和拉斯維加斯之間增設鐵路交通的計畫已經有四家在競爭了，第五家才是「沙漠閃電」準備進初階段評估地質探勘，預定路線由拉斯維加斯往沿著95號公路南下，到接近10號州高速公路時，分成東西向行駛，連接鳳凰城與洛杉磯。

這項計畫要使用時速200英里的電車軌道行進，計畫前期評估經費需3500萬元。

之前為爭取洛杉磯與拉斯維加斯間的「沙漠快鐵」（Desert Xpress）及磁浮高鐵（Maglev）二家均表示一定會動工興建，沙漠快鐵的破土日期已訂在今年。

另外二家利用現有鐵軌，不講求快速的X Train、Z Train ，展開攻防保衛戰，各自為將來的發展鬧上法院，顯然興建美國西南大城市之間的鐵路網，成為大型計畫中新競爭項目。

「沙漠閃電」進場角逐時間較晚，但主持者說這才是應該發展的美國西南高速鐵路段，將來採用歐洲或日本高鐵建設，依地形研究結果作決定，這項計畫估計投額350億至400億

 The proposal will provide an alternative to automobile travel between the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas along Interstate 15. This highway is a direct automobile route between the two regions and carries heavy traffic.^[2] Greyhound buses cover the route in between five and seven hours, while automobiles take around four hours.^[3] Currently, there is no passenger train service to Las Vegas. Amtrak last operated passenger train service to Las Vegas in 1997 on its Desert Wind route, which was cancelled due to budget cuts.
The city of Victorville was selected as the location for the westmost terminal since extending the train line farther into the Los Angeles basin through the Cajon Pass would be prohibitively expensive.^[4] Victorville is about 40 mi (64 km) from Riverside, where a station was proposed for the California high-speed rail line. The station will include free parking and through-checking of baggage straight to the Las Vegas Strip resorts.^[5] A future extension would include a new link to the California High-Speed Rail station in Palmdale.^[6]
The train would travel at speeds of up to 150 mph (240 km/h) and would make the 186 mi (299 km) trip from Victorville to Las Vegas in about 1 hour 24 minutes, shaving about two hours off the travel time.^[7][8] The backers of the project are currently in the process of raising funds for its construction, estimated at between US$4 to 5 billion.^[7][9] The cost would be about $21 million per mile, less than the average $35 million per mile of the light rail systems in the USA. The developers had hoped to break ground by early 2011, but incomplete planning and lack of funding have delayed the project.<sup>[10]


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沙漠快車環境評估報告通過 記者蔣玉琪綜合報導

能源部完成審核 連接維加斯和加州開發商可著手進行下階段籌備工作 　連接維加斯和加州勝利谷的“沙漠快車”高鐵專案（DesertXpress）取得突破性進展，該專案的最終環境評估報告在這週二順利通過了美國能源部的審核。 繼今年3月出爐“沙漠快車”高鐵專案環境評估報告書後，美國交通部週二對這份報告簽發決定書，至此“沙漠快車”高鐵專案已完成了整個環境評估程序。該專案的開發商可著手進行下一階段的籌備工作，如高鐵設計及籌資申請等。內州國會議員瑞德當日表示，這意味著內州將會產生更多的就業機會，“沙漠快車”高鐵專案將會為南內州帶來超過32,000份就業機會，並通過向遊客提供新的交通工具來帶動當地經濟的發展。 “沙漠快車”高鐵專案預計耗資60億美元，鐵路線全長186英里，高鐵時速130英里，往返于維加斯和加州勝利谷只需要84分鐘。內州國會議員瑞德曾表示，希望該專案能夠爭取在今年底開工。