A $4.8-billion project to run high-speed rail from Southern California to Las Vegas is securing needed funding.
A plan to connect Apple Valley in California to Las Vegas has advanced in recent weeks, reports Ralph Vartabedian. "If the chips fall the right way, the $4.8-billion project should have full funding for a 170-mile line along Interstate 15 and start construction later this year with trains running by 2023, [XpressWest] told The Times."
The majority of the funding would come from private debt funding through California, Nevada, and federal bond programs, says Vartabedian. "It adds up to $4.2 billion with XpressWest’s parent covering the balance with about $600 million of private equity, company officials said."
California officials are confident the additional funding will come through. "Officials are also taking the company’s plan seriously because it has contracted with a construction team led by Skanska of Stockholm, Sweden, and has purchased land for stations, a maintenance yard and related residential and commercial development," adds Vartabedian.
FULL STORY: Las Vegas high-speed train project, once stuck in low gear, is now moving forward
L.A.-Las Vegas High Speed Rail Could Break Ground Next Year
The privately funded train would shuttle passengers between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in half the time it takes to drive and could take 3 million vehicles off the road.
Las Vegas High-Speed Rail on Hold
A plan to build a high-speed rail line between Southern California and Las Vegas is on hold after the developer came up short on fundraising. Affordable housing projects in California stand to benefit from the newly available state bond funding.
Brightline, Florida's High-Speed Rail Company, Goes All in on Vegas
Shocking news from the high-speed rail industry, as Brightline announced its purchase of XpressWest, which is underway with plans to link Las Vegas to Victorville, California and eventually to Los Angeles.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association