California State Rail Plan 2007-08 to 2017-18

2007-08 – 2017-18 California State Rail PlanFrom these studies, SCAG has concluded that the Maglev/high-speed rail projectshave the potential to be self-funded through a public-private partnership, where thepublic sector will donate land and the private sector will construct and operate thesystem. Additionally, innovative funding strategies, such as FederalTransportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans andprivate investment bonds can be used to finance this project.LAS VEGAS-ANAHEIM MAGLEV PROJECTThe California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission (CNSSTC) was formed in1988 to promote the development of a 269-mile maglev system connectingLas Vegas with Anaheim. The CNSSTC and its private sector partner, AmericanMagline Group, for its FRA application in 2000, proposed a 40-mile segment fromLas Vegas to Primm, on the California border. A short segment of the project waschosen because of the difficulty in raising funds for the entire 269-mile project.The route travels between two fast-growing and heavily populated regions of theU.S. The project would have a total of five segments: Las Vegas to Primm,Primm to Barstow, Barstow to Victorville, Victorville to Ontario, and Ontario toAnaheim. There would be stops at each of the endpoints of the segments, for atotal of at least six stops. A key advantage of the system is the alignment providedby the Interstate Highway 15 ROW. If available, this alignment would minimizethe need for property acquisition and provides the least complicated constructionscenario possible.To date the project has received a total of $9.0 million in Federal funding fromFY 1999 through FY 2005: $1.4 million in FY 1999; $2.0 million in FY 2000;$900,000 million in FY 2001; $1.2 million in FY 2002; $1.5 million inFY 2003; $1.0 million in FY 2004; and $1.0 million in FY 2005. Also,$45 million is authorized in SAFETEA-LU for the next five years; however, nofunds have been appropriated to date.The CNSSTC has done a number of studies to date. They prepared and submittedto USDOT a Project Description Report on the Las Vegas to Primm segment in2000. Next the CNSSTC produced the Las Vegas-Primm/Barstow SupplementalProject Description in August 2002. That report presents projected physicalinfrastructure, ridership, costs, benefits, and related information for the extendedsegment from Las Vegas to Barstow via Primm. The report estimated capital costsfor the segment in 2000 dollars to be $5.65 billion.In May 2004, the FRA agreed to prepare a Programmatic Environmental ImpactStatement (PEIS) for the project, in cooperation with the Nevada Department ofTransportation. The PEIS will cover the entire corridor between Las Vegas andAnaheim, and will include a site-specific construction level ProgramEnvironmental Impact Report (PEIR) for the Las Vegas to Primm, Nevadasegment. As part of the PEIS, five public meetings were held in June 2004 in key182