Time May Be Right for Mag-Lev From Vegas to SoCal

"This past Thursday I went to a conference - presented by UNLV, the Urban Land Institute and the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission - that featured the latest update of the proposed maglev train that would be built between Anaheim and Las Vegas."

"I don't remember the first such presentation I attended except that I was a relatively young man who harbored an idea that tourism on both sides of the border could get a big boost from a high-speed train because it traveled very quickly in both directions. As many years passed with very little accomplished, it became apparent that the 3.5 hour drive to Los Angeles in the early days, which became four, then five and many times six hours or more as the traffic counts expanded and the interstate highway system did not, would be the norm because the dream of a magnetic levitation train was just that, and an impossible one at that."

"Fast forward to last week and it was apparent to those in the crowded room at UNLV that the train idea was back on track with a boost by none other than President Barack Obama. Not only did the president follow through on his promise to advance needed technological infrastructure, which means tens of thousands of construction jobs and thousands of permanent ones once the train starts running, but he also made that promise a solid one by providing billions of dollars in the latest stimulus bill for projects just like this."