Over last weekend reps from the DX train system talked to residents about the possible route DX will take coming into Las Vegas. Keep in mind this is coming from the recent EIR for DX and depending on the route it takes might need to be elevated near the airport, cross busy I-15 near Mandalay Bay.
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From the Las Vegas Sun
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/apr/28/nv-desertxpress/
Thursday, April 28, 2011 | 2:50 p.m.
Plans for a high-speed passenger train from Southern California to Las Vegas are attracting concern from property owners along what could be the last few miles of the 185-mile route to Sin City.
A representative of DesertXpress Enterprises told about 50 neighborhood residents at a town advisory board meeting Wednesday that federal approval for a route for the $6 billion project between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif., is expected soon.
Company lawyer Greg Gilbert says once the Federal Railroad Administration decision is published, DesertXpress will begin finalizing Las Vegas-area routes.
An environmental study puts the route roughly along Interstate 15, with stops at Russell Road and Flamingo Road.
The Las Vegas Sun reports the non-profit Dean Martin Rural Neighborhood Preservation Association is raising concerns about neighbors' property values.
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This also ties into an additional story from Las Vegas local News Station 13 about residences protesting the DX project.
http://www.ktnv.com/story/14544095/homeowners-protest-high-speed-rail-project
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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) – The DesertXpress high speed rail project is supposed to create new revenue and clean energy jobs for Southern Nevada.
But now, there's outrage over the proposed route.
Electric trains running from California to Las Vegas sounds like a sure bet to boost tourism. But for homeowners living along the I-15 freeway, it sounds like a drop in their property value and their way of life.
The Kettering's rural southwest Las Vegas home sits hundreds of feet from I-15, near the Southpoint Casino. But it's a space that could soon be filled with tracks and high speed trains.
"2006 is when they started on it," says Jim Kettering. "We were notified about it two weeks ago."
Jim and Eileen feel their neighborhood is being railroaded by DesertXpress, a high speed rail project between Victorville, California, and Las Vegas.
Reporter: How do you feel this thing has been handled?
"Secretly."
But it's not a secret that the project is a go; Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced the environmental approvals on March 25.
But the Ketterings say they didn't find out where the local rails might go until a DesertXpress official recently met with their neighborhood association.
The first proposal is downtown, along existing railroad tracks. The second is along the I-15 near the Rio All-Suite Hotel-Casino. And the other route would run from Dean Martin Drive and Cactus down to Wigwam.
At a cost of $75 per one-way ticket, the Ketterings question the light rail's financial sense.
"So a round trip for two people would be $300 dollars," says Eileen. "That's a lot of money they could be spending in the casinos."
The couple also questions a $6.5 billion project that's already applied for federal loans.
"The monorail we have, you know, isn't self-sufficient," Jim argues. "And I'm just concerned something like this wouldn't be self sufficient either in the long run."
A spokesperson for DesertXpress released a statement that claims residents' concerns can't be answered yet, "as we are waiting for the Federal Railroad Association to issue the record of decision which determines the final argument of the project.
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Also, at last months APWA (american public works association) NEVADA held a conference for all (3) train systems to present their projects. CA/NV Maglev and X-train presented however, the DX project cancelled at the last minute.
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