Connecting the lines a key to Nevada railroad plan

We want high-speed Internet, we want a 4G phone, we want up-to-date information on our friends — forget the phone call, Facebook will do. It seems like we are all pining for faster.

Somehow an old-fashioned train ride sounds peaceful. Other than rapid transit, I’ve never hopped a train, but something about dining in a boxcar restaurant or kicking back and watching the scenery whiz by sounds romantic.

Las Vegas was established as a railroad town in the early 1900s, and rail lines still criss-cross the state. So, will trains ever return?

With the help of a $700,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration delivered last year, the Nevada Department of Transportation is dusting off those old railroad tracks to see what shape they are in and evaluate the connections.

The endeavor is called the Nevada State Rail Plan, which department officials describe as a “document to set forth policy involving freight and passenger rail including commuter rail in the state, set priorities and strategies to enhance rail service in the state that benefits the public.”

If this has piqued your interest, check out the transportation department’s presentation Monday from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Desert Breeze Community Center on Spring Mountain Road.

If you have lived in Southern Nevada for any period of time, you are familiar with all the train proposals that have been floated only to remain up in the air, floating.

The DesertXpress high-speed train that will link Las Vegas to Victorville, Calif., is the closest the state has come to a new rail project, having cleared environmental hurdles last year. The greatest obstacle is funding for the $6 billion line. Although U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has visited Nevada on several occasions to tout the high-speed train, DesertXpress Enterprises has yet to receive any federal assistance.

So, is this new rail plan another far-fetched idea that will never come to fruition?

Susan Martinovich, director of the Nevada Department of Transportation said no. Tone down the giddiness. She followed that up with this: “I don’t think it will happen soon.”

This plan is in its infancy and it’s unknown what type of trains would use the tracks, although they would likely be faster than the old-fashioned type I dreamed about earlier. The key, Martinovich said, is making sure the rail lines go somewhere.

“We don’t want the train to stop in Las Vegas and then have passengers have to cross the street to the bus station dragging all their luggage,” she said.

Yes, it is difficult enough to haul around my Jackpitbulladoodle in my handbag, let alone all my luggage.

“It would be really cool to have a system tied together,” Martinovich said.

Tied together, meaning the goal is to connect the state’s new rail system into the DesertXpress so if you live in, say, Pahrump, you can hop the train to Las Vegas, connect to the high-speed train to Victorville, then onto Palmdale, Calif., where you can catch a ride to San Francisco.

Wait, Martinovich emphasized that the train must go somewhere. As it stands, the DesertXpress stops in Victorville, and building that crucial connection to Palmdale is not a priority for California. So, if it’s not likely that a passenger will walk across the street to a bus station, how likely is it that a passenger would pay $50 to ride to Victorville, then drive a rental car along the most congested portion of the commute to Southern California?

“Hopefully they thought that through,” Martinovich said.

California has had all sorts of problems with its proposed $100 billion San Francisco-to-Los Angeles line. Voters approved a $10 billion bond, but have since grown skeptical of the project and its ballooning price tag. Last month, two California High-Speed Rail Authority executives stepped down. I wonder how many transit authorities to our west are thinking Palmdale.

Let’s stick to the Nevada plan.

Consider this: More than 90 percent of the state’s goods are trucked into Nevada. Fuel taxes have not been raised since 1993 and the Department of Transportation is struggling to find money to fix our highways.

The idea is that reviving rail transportation would allow freight to move efficiently through the state without clogging our already congested freeways. It would also provide travelers an alternate mode of transportation and save wear and tear on the freeways.

If you want some input on this idea, check out Monday’s meeting. If you can’t make it, log onto nvrailplan.com and punch the quick link called How to Get Involved. The transportation department has offered a few surveys for residents.

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call Adrienne Packer at 702-387-2904, or send an email to roadwarrior
@reviewjournal.com. Include your phone number.