Disneyland-Las Vegas Levitating Train Just $12B Away

File this under Only in America; the recently-passed national transportation bill includes $42 million to fund further research on a proposed Anaheim to Las Vegas (Disneyland to Casinoland) magnetic levitation high-speed rail system, designed to whisk the entertainment-starved between the two spots at speeds up to 310 mph. I can just see parents loading the kids on the Maglev and shipping them off to Disneyland (Walt Disney, NYSE:DIS) while Mom and Dad hit the craps tables in Sin City.

This funding, of course, is only a drop in the enormous bucket of this cutting-edge technology. The final cost to construct the system is currently estimated at $12 billion. Imagine the ticket prices- even more than entry to Disneyland, including refreshments!

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Paul]

Screw this.

What we need are about 12 new rail lines that connect the SF Valley with the LA Basin. Give somehting that will keep me off the 405 and I'm for it.

But Disneyland to Vegas? A total waste.

[DRaymond]

Meanwhile in November Californians will be voting on what they really need, a high speed rail (not maglev) between LA and SF and connecting with all the major cities along the way.

[mamacat]

For as long as I can remember, taxpayers have been funding "studies" of trains between Southern Cal and Vegas. I'd like to know where all the money went that has been funding these "studies."

We have studies of high speed rail lines, studies of geothermal development, studies of wind generation, studies of solar power...........
Why don't we start doing something, instead of having all of these studies?
And please, don't blame the Democratic Congress. That is such a lame excuse.

[themodernleader]

Don't be concerned. As our economic system collapses and money for everything of value dries up. so will the high speed scheme for the pleasure of the ellite. Throwing money after schemes that delude ourselves into believing that we are advanced in science and technology delimits our capacity to put money in research and development for new avenues of energy so we can sustain our national highway system and our way of life. Our priorities must be towards revitalizing our country's capacity to invent and produce to renew our standard of life for all of our citizens.

[RobinSeattle]

There's an Amtrak station next to Angels Stadium and I assume it would leave from there. It could also make a stop in Riverside and considering how many people commute from Riverside/Corona to the OC, this could be a boon. It will reduce pollution and congestion on the 91 and 55 freeways, which are packed to a crawl for two hours or more each way during the rush hours.

Anyone who has taken the fast, clean Japanese bullett trains from Tokyo to points west (Osaka, Nagoya, etc) and back would realize that it is about time that the U.S. get the hint and invest in more trains for urban areas and to major connection points. It takes the airplane contrails out of the air and is safer than even flying (well, it can be if we update our rotting rail infrastructure). Plus you can just get more people on a train than in a single plane.

Metrolink's ridership has jumped significantly as gas prices have spiked. Same with Amtrak's ridership. But it won't become universally popular unless there are more stops available and stations are within convenient distances to homes and businesses. The time is now and we should jump on this.

[WorkingClass]

We're not allowed to have trains in this country because they don't burn enough fuel. Its better for the oil companies if all surface transportation is on roads. Thats why the government builds highways instead of railroads.

[WilliePilgrim]

If our leadership took the attitude of seriousness that they now reserve for war and apply it to our energy situation, building these futuristic high speed profitable lines would be a natural. If we saw the connection between our energy security and war we'd probably do well to think in terms that make a 12 billion dollar train look like a good idea in the long run, not just between LA and LV but in a number of corridors. To disparage the notion of its being a serivce for foreign tourism is to overlook that foreign tourist dollars are some of the best kind of income a nation can have in many respects...we should, while we're at it, re-create the ecosystem that at one time made North America a living natural wonder equalled only by the vast herds of Africa. This would further enhance the draw to an evermore international market for tourism while recreating the wild and healthy environment that has provided us with so many benefits.

[rollingdivision]

This project makes no sense. "Assuming a round-trip price similar to that of an airline ($172 at this moment on Delta), just to gross $12 billion, this train would have to carry 10,000 passengers a day, every day for 20 years. To net $12 billion, the number would probably be, who know? 100,000 a day?"

Pork on wheels, my mistake, pork on linear induction motors. Maglev, why not just buy currently commercially available high speed rail from Europe or Japan instead of pie in the sky maglev? France would gladly sell TGV technology which allows for 190 mph trains.

"Part of the high cost of such system stems from the need to construct new corridors; maglev trains don't operate on rail, but rather float over a different type of rail on a cushion of air maintained by magnetic repulsion. In this respect, finding a corridor across the southern desert should be easier than in densely inhabited areas."

With countries around the world preparing to build their own demonstration projects, wouldn't it be smarter to learn on their dime, and wait until the economies of scale are in our favor before building such a costly system?"

[BigBagel]

"wouldn't it be smarter to learn on their dime, and wait until the economies of scale are in our favor before building such a costly system?"
This is America. We're stupid now.

[Robert59]

I can see it now, high speed rail lines all over the country, designed to do one thing, bring people and their hard earned dollars to Lost Wages.

[Myshkin57]

Sure... I agree. But if they do all they "getting stuff figured out" work, then maybe we can get more high speed rail across the country. No one wants to be the first, because it might fail. if we have one working example in the U.S. to point to (Don't try pointing to Europe. No one pays attention to that.) then maybe we can get support for them.

[ErnestineBass]

Cool.

Now Goofy can take that second job as croupier.

[Wiredwilly]

Well, the good news is people are talking about a train as a viable form of transportation , the bad news is it's between Disneyland and Las Vegas, the epitome of American consciousness, being perhaps the most entertained and least informed people in the World. How about an upgrade of the existing rail road system so people actually USE it, or adding routes between congested Urban centers .

[JScott]

Folks this has been talked about for YEARS, it's been studied for YEARS, nothing is built yet, people along the line will complain about the noise (I've heard high speed trains are like hearing a cannon fire) to mitigate they will have to buy up tons of right of way that will be outrageously expensive, yet all the local governments still are approving development on what would be the right of way. And ya wonder about why Amtrak has cut out the LA/OC to LV train route. Besides there are many tribal casinos now that folks can go to in closer parts of San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego county, why go to Las Vegas when you can gamble closer to home. This would be nice but seems the Disney land to Las Vegas route shouldn't be the first priority other routes alluded to in other comments would be more appropriate and a Maglev train kinda seems like a luxury that this country can't afford, it would be better spent and healthcare and the looming social security crisis.

[jerrypenguin]

Disneyland to Las Vegas??? Is not entertainment a US national priority? The possibility of water in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and the entire Southwestern Unites States and Northern Mexico is much more entertaining.

[DwH]

When will the people of this state be served?

We desperately need a high-speed train between Sacramento/San Francisco and Los Angeles, and yet we are going to build a train for foreign tourists.

[SwingingFromCenter]

Do you have any idea how much money Southwest, United, etc. make flying the LAX to McCarren route? This will generate more revenue than LA to Frisco.